starting a coffee house in france?

[nantes in mind.]

hello all.

i am new to the site and have some questions. i lived in nantes this past summer and found the town exhilarating. i have always dreamed of moving to europe with the intentions of opening a coffee house/bookstore of some type. if you know anything about the french and their coffee...it is much different from the american experience. i am not a huge fan of starbucks, but i love the idea of introducing a similar atmosphere and taste (ie: frappaccinos, cheesecake, etc.) to to this french city. i am thinking very posh, very chill, very accessible, and hopefully very popular. "free spirited" and "new" seems like something the university students would identify well with.

i have clearly experienced the facets of red tape and i know there is MUCH to be done but i am wondering if this idea is even feasible.

i have many specific questions that cannot be answered through search engines in the least bit.

like...

1. how much money would it cost to rent a business space along with fees and licenses?

2. would the french even consider dining where there is no alcohol for sale but rather rich coffee drinks, pastries and a lite menu?
3. are there any expats that are currently business owners that could give me a little advice?

knowing that the french embrace american media and music, would they be interested in an franco-american coffee house? with american music and literature?


just a few thoughts. i am in a bind to get some answers together and put into a business plan...so any advice would be appreciated ASAP.

thanks much...

[Stravinsky]

Originally Posted by nantes in mind.

knowing that the french embrace american media and music, would they be interested in an franco-american coffee house? with american music and literature?

Is that so?

[nantes in mind.]

is it not so? these are the kind of answers i am looking for...

[Bevdeforges]

Originally Posted by nantes in mind.

hello all.

1. how much money would it cost to rent a business space along with fees and licenses?

2. would the french even consider dining where there is no alcohol for sale but rather rich coffee drinks, pastries and a lite menu?
3. are there any expats that are currently business owners that could give me a little advice?

knowing that the french embrace american media and music, would they be interested in an franco-american coffee house? with american music and literature?

1. There is a way to kind of "rent" a business - from the ground up. You come in as a sort of manager to replace an owner who wants to sell but isn't ready to give up the income just yet. It's called a location-gérance and is sort of a staged buy-out of a business in liquidation (though not necessarily because it's bankrupt - it can just be an owner easing into retirement).

2. Haven't stopped by myself, but apparently the Starbucks in Paris is doing just fine. There are apparently Starbucks elsewhere in France, too.

3. Setting up a business here in France is tough. Check the website of the Chambre de Commerce in the departement you're interested in. (The Chambre de commerce is a government agency, not a trade group of local merchants.) They can usually send you to a site for their center for entrepreneurs, which will give you the scoop on the paperwork and fees. It's all in French, but if you can't handle the language, you have little hope of dealing with all the "fun and games" of a French business.

As to your last question, the French are much more into American stuff than they admit. Depending on how it's presented and how you targeted your audience, it could work out nicely. But you need to steer around a number of touchy cultural sensibilities.

Hope any of that helps.

[nantes in mind.]

thanks...that is actually a great help.

[giantpanda]

Hi!

You need professionnal advice.

Better start at the Chambre de Commerce - You can hardly make a business plan on unfounded, incomplete estimations.

If you are not an EC citizen then matters will be much more complicated.And I hope that you are fluent in French!

Yours,

giantpanda

[boitacecile]

I am french and I've lived abroad for years, never in the US. I am now in Australia and there is that coffee shop called Gloria Jeans. I don't know if it is american or not, but if you do something like that in France, it should work. All of my french friends/family, coffee drinker that I know have found this place and the coffees excellent. Personally, I do not like the coffees in Starbucks or the shop. It is too "american" for me.
If you do a coffee shop american style, but not too much, and with the right amount of french touch, you are a winner.