What a story!
1934 - The genesis
The Cloister was owned by the Congregation of the Sisters of the Visitation until 1989.
From 1932 to 1985 the sisters of the Madeleine Remusat convent established their new monastery here: a beautiful place to pray.
1989
Le Cloître is bought by the Apprentis d'Auteuil to become a place of accommodation and
training for the most disadvantaged young people and their families until 2017.
The Makers
2016 - The turning point
Vincent ROBERT, President of the Bayon Foundation, based in Angkor, Cambodia, which works to qualify women in the pastry-making trade, calls on Arnaud CASTAGNÈDE, founder of ActaVista and Bao Formation, to create a center for economic and social innovation in Marseille.
Their meeting with Bruno GALY, then PACA regional director of Apprentis d'Auteuil, and with leaders involved with the NGO Ashoka, enabled them to envisage together the Cloître project on one of the Foundation's sites, in the heart of Marseille's northern districts.
This former cloister, then known as Saint-François de Sales, located on the hill of Saint-Bruno in the 13th arrondissement, was given a new lease of life and became the setting for an innovative project: to build a place where companies could envisage their future together with that of young people in the northern part of Marseille. Le Cloître was born.
November 2017 - December 2018
Renovation of the 4,000 m2 of the 6,000 m2 building that make up the Cloître. 3.5 M invested jointly by the Foundation and theEuropean Union, with the participation of the Fonds Régional de Développement Economique (FEDER Région Sud) to undertake the work required for this conversion.
From a 6-hectare estate in a state of wasteland, we're beginning to see the beginnings of a revival.
April 8, 2019
Restaurant opening Les Jardins du Cloître marked by the integration of 6 apprentices via the Apprentis d'Auteuil training and professional integration programs.
They are all committed to their training and professional qualifications in the restaurant.
Their arrival marks the start of a wonderful adventure!
April 2020
France is facing an historic health crisis that is impacting every facet of our society. Our restaurant is joining forces to respond to this scourge. Michel PORTOS and Arnaud CASTAGNÈDE launch Les Casseroles Solidaires which distributes 160,000 meals to the underprivileged, particularly the homeless . The program is run in partnership with SAMU Social and the Vendredi 13 association.
meals a week for students
Today, our action has adapted to needs: 50 meals from the restaurant's menu are distributed free of charge each week to the Vendredi 13 association for the most disadvantaged students.
2021
Le Cloître welcomes Emmanuel Macron as part of a review of exemplary initiatives
launched in Marseille.
2023
In 2023, Le Cloître Marseille welcomed over 13,000 visitors and 624 young people in training were supported on site, 283 of whom came from Marseille's priority urban districts.
