Would You Like Some Fries With Your Mini?

When we first walked by, I did a double take. "Was that a Mini parked inside that restaurant?" I asked. We backed up a few steps and looked again. Yes, in fact, there was a shiny Mini Cooper hanging out right inside a restaurant on upscale Avenida Libertador, just inches away from nice, civilized people who appeared to be having a nice, civilized lunch. There were two Minis in fact!



As we peered through the floor-to-ceiling windows and took in the scene, it became clear that we had assumed wrong. There wasn't a Mini in the restaurant, you see, but the other way around. There was a restaurant in a Mini dealership! What's even more surprising is that this is actually not a novel concept in Buenos Aires. A few days later, we passed another hip cafe located inside a Renault dealership.



As for why and how this eat-with-your-new-car trend has flourished, we don't know. Certainly a car dealership is the last place we ever thought to look for an espresso and a croissant. But we'll be getting to the bottom of the mystery soon. My first question is: do you have to pretend to be interested in buying a car to eat at the restaurant? Or, if not, do they simply hope you will become enamored with the car by spending quality time in its presence?