Billy Thorens is one of those entrepreneurs who are his brand, who live on it and his is Billy Brunch. In his case, everything he does revolves around his business: he lives by and for him. He handles a branded truck with the iconic chick, carries a clock with the same figure and in Barcelona, has deployed motorcycles and even a tuktuk as part of a marketing strategy as original as effective. It is not uncommon to see customers and curious with chick stickers glued to clothes, cell phone, computer or thermos.
Little by little, the brand has become an icon of the city, but the expansion is inevitable. In a few years, the brand will have crossed more borders than it has already crossed, carrying its Brunch ‘philosophy all day’ and hospitality far beyond Spain.
In an interview with ForbesBilly Thorens, after years in the high luxury hotel in Europe and the Middle East, found in Mexico “a decisive inspiration: genuine hospitality,” he explains.
It was on Holbox Island, working at a hotel directed by Mexicans, where he discovered that natural sympathy, real desire to please the client and close treatment without excessive formalisms. ”That experience, added to his time through a host family in Mexico City, marked forever his way of understanding the service and what he learned there became part of Billy Brunch’s DNA.
Billy Brunch, or Billy Thorens in his documents, was born in a small agricultural town in Switzerland, where he learned the value of local products and good eating. After serving in the Swiss army – experience that left him discipline and respect for the hierarchy -, he initiated a race in five -star hotels and Michelin restaurants in Switzerland, France and Dubai.
In what he calls “the mecca of the luxury hospitality”, he perfected service standards and learned the importance of constancy. But he also observed the least inclusive side of the sector: “In Dubai everything is very elitist and I thought: why not offer that correct, fast and friendly service, but available to everyone?”
It was in 2018, a year after returning from Dubai, that Thorens opened the first Billy Brunch in Barcelona. The proposal was clear: a quality brunch, with accessible prices and close service, available throughout the day. At six months, there were already rows at the door.
But it was in a market like Barcelona, where the competition multiplied in a few years, which has made Billy remain faithful to his model.
“Tomorrow I could take three or four measures to increase profitability, but it would affect the soul of the brand,” he says. In Billy Brunch, customers are accompanied to the table, the menu are presented, the atmosphere and human interaction are taken care of.
This implies more personal than the average, but for him it is an investment: “In a five -star hotel you have an employee for every two clients. Here it is not, but there is enough staff to give more attention and maintain a better attitude.”
Discipline is also one of the keys to Billy Brunch. “The quality cannot vary. If someone proves our club sandwich today, they should know the same as three years ago. We have employees rotating between premises to try and ensure that everything is kept the same.”
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The present and future of Billy Brunch
Today, the brand has nine restaurants: six in Barcelona, one in Madrid and two in Seville, with 120 fixed employees. According to the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Spain received more than 85 million tourists in 2023, many attracted to its gastronomic offer. A market in which Billy Brunch not only participates, but seeks to leave a mark.
The immediate plan of the businessman includes optimizing two stores in Barcelona and opening a second in Madrid in 2026. But his most ambitious goal is on the horizon: “In 2028 I want to open in New York. I celebrated my 30 years in the first Billy Brunch; I want to celebrate my 40 in New York.”
And speaking of the future, the goal is clear: reach 50 restaurants and 1,000 employees, maintaining the quality and spirit that characterize it. “It is not a project to sell for a day, it is something I want to do until the end, with people well paid and happy.”
Beyond the expansion, Billy is proud of the relationship with his employees: several have been with him for seven years, growing from positions as dishwasher or waiter to positions of responsibility. “It’s a great satisfaction to see that they live well thanks to work here,” he says.
For him, that closeness with customers and his team is part of the essence of the brand. “There is always time to listen to a discontent diner or address an employee problem. Growing does not mean losing human treatment.”
In this sense, he affirms that “Billy Brunch is not just a place to eat. It is a concept that mixes cultures and experiences: Swiss rigor, Mexican warmth and the dynamism of the Spanish market. A formula that, until now, has worked so well that not only has Barcelona conquered”, but is ready to bring the brunch “all day” to new corners of the world.
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