WINCHESTER — Frederic Boukaïa strolled through the brick-walled dining room of La Niçoise Café on Wednesday morning, pointing out the decor that shares the story of his life.
There are paintings of Nice, France: Boukaïa’s faraway hometown. There are a handful of years-ago newspaper articles framed, like one when the café first opened 18 years ago. There is a photo of his son in a well-decorated army uniform, looking like a younger version of Boukaïa, and an array of his grandchildren’s yearbook photos.
Boukaïa came a long way to open La Niçoise Café in downtown Winchester and has worked tirelessly for its success. It’s an endeavor of which he’s quite proud. But he says the time has come for the next chapter in his life.
“The onion soup, the ambiance, the way I present myself,” the 70-year-old said, listing reasons the restaurant has been long-lasting. “They come with a smile, they leave with a smile,” he said about his customers. “This is my goal. So, I did it.”
“But, you know, after all these years, my mind says, ‘Let’s go on.’ And my body says, ‘No más.’ My knees and my shoulders and my back. You did it, my friend, forget your brain.”
La Niçoise Café, the cozy French eatery on South Braddock Street, is closing, with its final day set for Saturday. Boukaïa has sold the place to a local businessman who has dining-related plans for the location, with more details to come later.
It’s a bittersweet farewell for Boukaïa, whose story leading up to establishing the restaurant mirrors the American dream. Over the years, La Niçoise Café has built a steady following with its French Mediterranean cuisine, been featured in a New York Times bestselling novel and served up lots of French onion soup — his most popular menu item.
When he came to the United States in 1979, Boukaïa says he was was the first person in the country with his last name. Having worked in various dining establishments back in France, the newcomer continued to do what he knew best, while starting a family in Northern Virginia. He and his wife, Robin Boukaïa, were married within a month of him immigrating to America and children came soon after.
After decades of working for other people, Boukaïa felt ready to dive into his own venture. In December of 2006, La Niçoise Café was born, named after Nice, his hometown on France’s Mediterranean coast. Launching his own business was a risk Boukaïa was willing to take, uncertain if it would last one week, one year or beyond.
“I said, ‘Maybe it’s time for me to prove to myself I can do it. Otherwise, why all these years in this business?,’” he reflected.
Sure enough, “day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year,” he said the café kept its doors open, even surviving the COVID-19 pandemic after a two-month closure.
Spending six days a week at the café used to be the norm for Boukaïa. He would cook, serve and seat guests with help from a small staff or his daughter and only one day off.
“But after COVID, I said, ‘You know what? Life is too short.’”
So, in 2020, he shortened his restaurant hours and days of operation to make room for more time with family and more time to rest. His reasons for doing that are almost identical to his reasons for deciding to close: “Life is too short,” he reiterated.
Pausing, Boukaïa turned to a photograph of his family: his wife of almost 46 years and four now-grown kids with professions ranging from airplane mechanic to hair stylist. He spoke of his grandchildren, too, and each with great pride.
“I don’t know how long God wants to keep me on this earth,” he said, adding that while he is here, he wants to spend his days well.
In the meantime, Boukaïa has a few days left to serve his favorite French meals to customers. Hours today, Friday and Saturday are 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. for lunch and 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. for dinner.
Longtime regulars, hearing of the news of the café’s closure, have already begun to pour in to say their goodbyes.
“They are so sad,” he said. “They are happy for me, but they are sad, especially because of my famous French onion soup.”