Le Coq Bressan: Flaxton French restaurant moves to Maleny Hills Motel

The owners of a thriving French restaurant in the Sunshine Coast hinterland have said au revoir to their business’s well-known home to start a new venture.

The owners of a thriving French restaurant in the Sunshine Coast hinterland have said au revoir to their well-known business base after two decades.

Le Coq Bressan, nestled on the top of the Blackall Range between Montville and Mapleton, enriched the Sunshine Coast with French food and culture for 20 years.

Its owners, Thierry and Cindy Clerc, fell in love with the 12,000sq m property on a drive up from Brisbane and put in hard yards to bring the run down building up to scratch before they opened to the public.

Thierry and Cindy Clerc are selling their French restaurant in Flaxton after 17 years of business in the area.

In the two decades since the building and its iconic rooster mascot have become well-known among locals and passers-by.

Mr Clerc said he and his wife loved their time at the Flaxton home, but were looking for a change when they bought Maleny Hills Motel eight months ago.

The pair later closed the restaurant on March 1 and have opened a small cafe at the six-room motel which offers light lunches from Thursday to Sunday.

Thierry and Cindy Clerc are selling their French restaurant in Flaxton after 17 years of business in the area. Thierry is pictured at the front of the business with the famous rooster.

The family have run a bed and breakfast in France for the past 10 years and are no strangers to the hospitality industry.

Mr Clerc, who hails from a small village in Burgundy, said they were enjoying running their new business.

“It’s nice to have a little motel at the same time as our cafe, we meet some really nice people coming from everywhere,” he said.

“In the past we have sent people over to our bed and breakfast and given them recommendations … and now we can bring French people to Australia.”

Thierry and Cindy Clerc are selling their French restaurant in Flaxton after 17 years of business in the area.

Mr Clerc said the new business opportunity allowed him and his wife to downsize and avoid Covid-19 staffing issues.

“Covid was a very good time for us because we did a lot of pre-packaged meals and we have a very good support with local customers that keep us going,” he said.

“But the big problem is the issue of finding staff and that pushed us to downsize.”

The restaurant's iconic rooster recognised by all those who drove past it has also moved and has pride of place outside the family’s Maleny motel.