Restaurant Owner Banned All Bankers After Being Turned Down For a Loan

Alexandre Callet owns Les Ecuries de Richlieu, a restaurant just outside Paris. Don't worry, you won't need to know any French for this.

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His restaurant made more than $300,000 in business last year, Alexandre says, "This is not just a kebab shop. My restaurant is in the Michelin guide and film stars come in here."

But when he went to the banks to get a loan for $61,000 to open a second location, he was turned down by all of them. "A lot of bankers who turned me down know me. They come in here."

Seven years ago Alexandre was turned down for loan 20 times before one bank decided to fund his first location. "The way banks have treated me is a reflection of the shameful way business owners are treated in France," he says. "I have never had financial problems and yet I find myself in this situation. Bankers are not doing their job."

So now he's fed up and getting his revenge, by banning all bankers from eating at his restaurant. He has a sign out front that says, "Dogs welcome, bankers banned (unless they pay an entry fee of 70,000 Euros)." That's roughly $77,000.

While he hasn't had to turn away any bankers yet, he says, "I will the moment I spot one."