Throughout the year, the town of Bayeux, France, is filled with tourists eager to learn about the area’s notable role in the monumental events of D-Day in 1944. What they aren’t expecting, however, is for a local French restaurant, named Selma Alabama, to serve as a reminder of another significant moment in history that took place much, much closer to home.

Selma Vatansever and her husband, Gregory, opened their tearoom and restaurant, Selma Alabama, in Bayeux, near Normandy, France, in August 2022 as place for hungry diners to enjoy a variety of savory breakfast dishes and brunch offerings as well as a full selection of sweets.

Vatansever, 38, said she wanted to open a place where customers could enjoy a meal and feel at home, but she also wanted that place to have real meaning behind it. That’s why, when it came time to decide what to call her first restaurant, she elected to name it after a source of great inspiration in her life – with a little nod to her own history as well.

“When I was a child, I often wondered why my name was Selma,” said Vatansever through email. “It was in 2014 that I discovered the film ‘Selma’ [directed by Ava Duvernay]. My interest in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and all his fights began, and my first name then made sense for me. Selma Alabama Bayeux [the tea room] is as a duty to remember. In the current global context, the important thing for me is to remember the fights waged in Selma, Ala., but also throughout the world.”

READ MORE: ‘Selma’ is a powerful and engaging movie

Vatansever said that Americans visit Bayeux to explore its history, and then they’re surprised to come across a little of their own in the form of a charming café. The sidewalk outside of the eatery often gets foot traffic, and its front windows, which prominently feature the tearoom’s name as well as a depiction of the Edmund Pettus Bridge, doesn’t go unnoticed.

“We have many American customers who are surprised to see the facade of the tearoom was called Selma Alabama,” said Vatansever. “During the tourist season from May to September, I hear every day ‘Oooooohh Selma Alabama’ as Americans pass in front of the tearoom. Some come in on purpose to ask us why.”

Vatansever said that she loves the interactions the tearoom (which also features a large mural of the Edmund Pettus Bridge inside) brings and how so many people recognize its name. She hopes it brings the importance of the Civil Rights Movement and Selma, Ala.,’s role in it to the forefront of their minds.

“Many [Americans] ask us to take a photo together in front of the façade,” said Vatansever. “These are very important and unforgettable memories for me. I love the contact created with Americans thanks to Selma Alabama. One day an American told me, ‘You know it’s a sad story for us,’ and I was touched by this man who was very moved.”

Selma Mayor James Perkins Jr. was also moved by Vatansever’s decision to honor the history of his city through her café. Mayor Perkins said he would love to sit down for a meal there and hopes to see it happen some day.

“I have often times said that Selma is an interesting community because we’ve done more for the world than we’ve been able to do for ourselves,” said Mayor Perkins. “I think the people who pause to understand our community really have a level of appreciation for Selma that those of us who live in it and navigate through it on a daily basis may have lost because it’s hard to appreciate what you already have. So I ‘m thankful that she has seen fit to honor Selma, Ala., the way that she is. It makes me want to visit the restaurant and taste the food. I need to put that on my bucket list.”

While visiting Bayeux may be a new addition to Mayor Perkins’ bucket list, Vatansever is hoping to check off an entry on her own later this year by visiting the United States to see the city that serves as her eatery’s namesake as well as other historic sites in Alabama.

“I have never been to the United States,” said Vatansever. “We have a goal of going to Alabama in November 2024. We would like to go to Selma, see the bridge, to Montgomery, to Muscle Shoals to visit the studio, to Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and visit the museums. That’s my dream!”

Find out more about Selma Alabama.