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Gilbert Costes is a French businessman and restaurant owner (born 11, March,1949). He came to Paris with his brother in the mid-1960’s, after spending his childhood in the South of France. For many years, he worked as a lawyer, while doing business in the restaurant and hotel field. Gilbert Costes is well known for buying and selling establishments, through the Beau-Marly group, which is a firm he created, along with his son, Thierry. The group owns about forty establishments in Paris, often located in important neighborhoods. He is an art and design lover, and is often associated by the French media to his son Thierry, both of them being known as ‘The Costes brothers’.

Biography
Education, and early career Gilbert graduated from Saint-Amans-des-Cots High School in the South of France.He then went to university in Paris, to study law at the Sorbonne university, where he received a law degree which enabling him to become a lawyer. When he first arrived to Paris as a young man, Gilbert Costes worked as a waiter in the restaurant Ambassade d’Auvergne, near the Centre George Pompidou , as he wanted to bring a some of his southern origins in his new Parisian life. As he was still studying, Gilbert Costes became the manager of the Café d’Orléans at Mouton-Duvernet (in the 14th arr. of Paris).

Private life
Gilbert is the son of Louis and Marie Costes, who worked as farmers. He has two brothers, Jean-Louis and Guy, and a sister, Geneviève, who also are restaurant owners. Gilbert got married to Yvette Biron in August 1971, and they have two children : Thierry and Audrey, also working in the restaurant and hotel business in Paris. Gilbert received the Legion of Honour, in December 2000.

Restaurants and catering
Gilbert, Thierry, and Jean-Louis Costes are particularly focused on the growth of their cafés and Parisian restaurants. Gilbert’s very first business deal was the famous restaurant Le Café Marly. In the mid-2000’s, Gilbert and Jean-Louis Costes owned abut forty establishments in Paris, which they often ended up selling. Their decorating tastes offer a contribution to the quality of the establishments they buy : in the mid-1980’s, Gilbert quit his job as a lawyer to buy the Café Beaubourg, and started a collaboration with Christian de Portzamparc, -a famous French architect- to decorate his restaurant. As an another example, the Café Costes, which belonged to Jean-Louis Costes was decorated by Phillipe Starck, who wasn’t a celebrity at the time. One of the most picturesque example would be the Georges, a well-known Parisian restaurant, located near the Centre Georges Pompidou.

Business deals by the « Costes brothers »are also characterized by optimization and  rationalization. Every side dish is made in a laboratory in Ivry-sur-Seine, and the bread and pastries are provided by a bakery firm. Furthermore, the Costes establishments are mainly located along the line 1 from the Parisian metro, which instantly makes them easy to find, as they are situated nearby the biggest touristic places in Paris.The Hôtel Costes,for instance a luxurious hotel and restaurant is located in the heart of Paris, in the prestigious neighborhood of the place Vendôme.

The Costes brothers maintain their close family ties : Guy Costes owns the Bourg-Tibourg hotel in Paris, Geneviève Costes owns many restaurants as well : Le Paris, Le Madrigal, Le Tourville, Thierry owns Le Germain, L’Iguana café, le Corso,his daughter Audrey, his nephew Philippe, and his wife Yvette are owners of Parisian establishments. The expansion of Gilbert’s establishments is only made by friends of his family, or his employees, giving the whole a flavor of « family business ». While Jean-Louis mostly works in the hotel business, Gilbert is closer to the catering field. As Time writes, ‘ a lot of Parisians have never heard of Jean-Louis Costes or of his brother Gilbert. However, from la Bastille, to the Grands Boulevards, Gilbert Costes and his family are the successful creators of forty establishments all based on the same values’. As Gilbert Costes says, they must be ‘big, located in extraordinary places, and close to intellectual establishments. It’s a mix up of space, terrace, sun, comfort, a very good view, and the lack of cars.’ The following make up the main establishments which Gilbert and Thierry have owned for thirty years : Le Café Costes, Le Café Beaubourg, Le Marly, Le Café de la Musique, Le Georges, L’Hôtel Amour, L’Etienne Marcel, Le Café RUC, L’Avenue, le Matignon.

The Commercial court
Since he was initially formed to be a judge,Gilbert Costes became a judge of commercial cases in 1991, and the president of the Commercial Court of Paris in 1999. At the time, his main project was to keep the role of ‘unprofessional judges’. Gilbert also was the president of the General conference of commercial courts for a year. After all those years spent working at Commercial Court, Gilbert Costes left his position ,the times then being considered quite troubled ones, and was replaced by Perrette Rey.

Other Functions
-Gilbert Costes taught at the University of Paris-I-Panthéon-Sorbonne from 1984 to 1991. -He has been a member of the department commission of taxes since 2004.