A bit shocking to come back to Aix and find two burger bars about to open in town, one each end of the cours Mirabeau!
‘J’aimerais qu’ils aillent ailleurs’, said Mayor Marysse Joissans, but they must have had a green light as ‘Five Guys’ opens in a few days.
Five Guys at the Rotonde opens on November 20th
It is situated just behind the Apple Store, where Flunch was until 2015. There is a Five Guys in a High Street near us in England and the branding is very bright, almost obtrusive: but from what I have seen in Aix, it looks much more subtle (see the photo).
Meanwhile, up at the top of the Cours Mirabeau, the Terminus Café is being transformed into a branch of ‘L’Artisan du Burger’, a Paris-based chain which prides itself on the freshness of its ingredients. In some ways, this is a more sensitive spot, in close proximity to the Hotel du Poet and the statue of Good King René. I do hope that they respect the integrity of the site.
It is the place where the Aix-Marseille tram used to terminate in the early years of the last century. There was a ticket kiosk here, along with a Café Terminus, for travellers about to take the long journey down to the coast.
Here is what it looked like – I’ll post an image of the new place just as soon as it takes shape. Expected mid-December.
aixcentric 
Thanks for all your wonderful informative posts…looking forward to seeing the details on the other burger venue…but with regards to Five Guys…at least it’s not McDonald’s or Burger King…then I would have been horrified!
Just looked up ‘their’ reviews, but as with most ‘burger places’ there are mixed reviews from the very best to not impressed at all, last visit ever etc…in the UK! Obama is supposed to have said it’s one of the best burger in the world…well he might have had to say that…but lets wait and see!
I for one will be visiting, and I will voice my thoughts, as it might very well be a nice change from burgers served with goats cheese ?(seriously) and more or less raw ? (and no I do not like a well done burger) but hopefully they will serve their burgers with a proper burger bun, that can hold the ingredients in or as good as, as supposed to the brioche buns they serve in many places here in France, which after a moment dissolves completely in your hands and it becomes a very messy affair…as hands is what a real burger should be eaten with, not knife and fork!
Lis 🙂
I hope it meets your expectations! Perhaps i will get some feedback….I won’t be visiting as I am vegetarian and they don’t appear to have much to offer. The other one though has vege-burgers so I might give that a whirl. I’m sure both will be popular judging by the number of students eating at Pizza Capri and Bagelstein. Glad you are still enjoying the blog Lis!
I did read that L’Artisan du Burger will be using brioche buns supplied by Weibel! Amusing vis a vis comment below!
They do seem committed to using local ingredients.
I’m just hoping it’s a subtle conversion of the Terminus café.