La France Cafe Boulangerie @ Irrawaddy Road

La France Cafe Boulangerie @ Irrawaddy Road is just opposite the popular Winn's Nyonya Cafe. I went inside on a Saturday around lunch time (when it should be busy) and was politely told the cafe has no dine-in inside but only takeaway or on tables outside. The Frenchman at the counter said his cafe was not affected by the State's plans to tear down houses at Irrawaddy Road for a redevelopment project.

The cafe seems to be run by only two people - a Frenchman and his partner. I bought a an apple tart for RM8 to takeway. No pictures were allowed to be taken inside by the proprietors.

La France has a wall sign that says it commenced business in 2007 so that makes it one of the oldest French cafes in Penang. Maybe the cafe has already built up a steady customer base, so social media marketing is not a priority for the proprietors. I see the cafe seems to blanked out reviews by customers on its FB page.

In contrast, the new Ciao Gelato at Victoria Road positively welcomes customers to post reviews on its FB page. In fact the proprietors encourage people to leave comments by offering a RM5 voucher if they also sign up for an online customer loyalty program. It seems like a bright idea for a new entrant into a competitive F&B market in Penang. Strange to find some established cafes do not seem interested in promoting their business.