Organisation
French Barclette
Position
Founders
Biography
Twins and the eldest of 6 siblings, Houssain and Lahcen have been inseparable since childhood. One has a degree in sports education, while the other left school in tenth grade and went from one odd job to the next, but both share a passion for Thai boxing.
"We are very athletic: boxing, ping-pong, swimming. Before competitions, we have to lose 3 to 6 kilos to stay in the lightweight category under 63 kilos. But afterward, we’re really hungry!"
It was on one of those days of craving, as they found the time their mother took to prepare a raclette for them too long, that the idea of creating a raclette fast-food restaurant was born.
"We also told ourselves that it might appeal to students who, in general, don't have the equipment to make it themselves, and that people living alone don't make it either."
The adventure began in 2021 in the family garage in the heart of the Cité de la Clochette in Douai. Throughout the afternoons, taking inspiration from the best practices of industry giants, they tested their recipes with their loved ones, refined their revisited concept—composed of fries and charcuterie topped with melted raclette cheese—and learned how to manage the day-to-day of a burgeoning entrepreneurial project.
"It was while training for boxing that we got the idea for the name: 'barclette'—a tray (barquette) for raclette. We saved money, we tightened our belts, we did all the renovations ourselves, we became handymen, and for the opening, two friends came to help us, and it was a huge turnout!"
The support from Adie was decisive in financing and accompanying the opening of their first restaurant in Bruay, near Lens.
"When you come from a neighborhood, you don't necessarily have the right contacts or the right bearings. But today, there are organizations like Adie that are here to help."
In addition to their marketing sense, the two brothers had the smart idea to open at night, when everything else is closed, after 10 or 11 PM until 1 AM on weekdays and 2 AM on Saturdays.
Luck smiled upon them when a journalist from La Voix du Nord, who passed by their restaurant under construction every day, was seduced by their concept and shone a spotlight on their burgeoning business, which was subsequently picked up by numerous media outlets.
Between 2022 and 2025, the company grew rapidly. The twins opened 6 additional restaurants in Lens, Arras, Sin-le-Noble, Hénin-Beaumont, Liévin, and Douai, which they manage together, and they hired 70 employees, mostly from local neighborhoods.
"We hire without discrimination, all profiles of hard workers are welcome."
In 2025, their uncle opened the first French Barclette franchise near Rouen, in Normandy, marking a new stage in the development of their business.
"In the future, we hope to open several franchises all over France. You have to go for it, believe in your dreams, and go for it step by step."
Speaking in:
#EUSocialForum 2026: Microfinance: Poverty reduction through the social and financial integration of the most vulnerable in Europe