In Paris, 99, avenue des Champs Elysees is one of those mythical addresses. It has been home to the legendary Le Fouquet's restaurant since ambitious Parisian cafe owner Louis Fouquet introduced his grand cuisine in the French capital in 1898. A century's worth of star-status patrons from the beau monde to the jet set earned this glamorous dining establishment Paris' coveted landmark status in 1990. But it was the combination of location, reputation and the upside of surrounding real estate that gave it a chance at a new life for its second hundred years. Dominique Desseigne, chairman of the board of the family owned Lucien Barriere Group, spent the last eight years and a half-billion dollars acquiring, restoring, converting and combining the five Belle Epoque buildings wrapped around the restaurant into Paris' chicest new 5-star, Hotel Fouquet's Barriere.
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