Les Deux Magots exports the Parisian art de vivre

After the successful opening in Japan of a café also called Les Deux Magots, and some promising projects in the Middle East, the management of Les Deux Magots is launching a major campaign — with the support of its eclectic and international clientele — in order to attract foreign investors. The aim is to expand further the Parisian café’s prestigious brand overseas.

[ClickPress, Tue Jun 20 2006] Legitimately considered to be a genuine and unique Parisian institution, combining style and tradition, Les Deux Magots is still a Mecca for culture, and the famous café is now exporting its douceur de vivre (i.e. its gentle way of life). Today, new projects are under consideration in Europe, America, the Middle East and Asia.

Les Deux Magots is confident that large international cities across the world, which tend to be highly responsive to French culture, will be won over by the opportunity to play host to prestigious, local Les Deux Magots cafés. Foreign investors will be keen to develop the Deux Magots concept in their domestic markets, whilst respecting the overall image of the Parisian brand.

The management’s wish to export the prestigious cultural values and traditions to which Les Deux Magots remains fundamentally attached has been supported significantly by its initial international success, in Japan in particular. Indeed, Les Deux Magots, which has been based for almost 20 years in one of Tokyo’s main cultural centres, has been incredibly well received in that country — a literary prize has even come into being, awarded at the café every year to a Japanese writer! There is also a shop, attached to the café, which sells branded goods and French bakery products.

However, the success of the Les Deux Magots concept — identified with the Parisian art de vivre — cannot be understood without referring to the café’s historical and geographical roots. The history of the Saint-Germain-des-Prés quarter in Paris, its intellectual influence and its powers of attraction over a variety of key figures, both artists and thinkers, for more than a century, is closely linked to that of Les Deux Magots — one of the most famous cafés in the French capital. Oscar Wilde, Max Ernst, Picasso, Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Saint Exupéry, Hemingway and Umberto Eco, to name but a few, attracted by its outstanding location in the heart of Paris, have contributed to its renown.

Les Deux Magots café is one of the oldest cafés in Paris, where service has retained its original character in an authentic setting. The waiters, dressed in black and white, according to tradition, still serve drinks by firstly presenting the bottle to the customer. As in bygone days, the traditionally prepared hot chocolate, made by melting bars of chocolate in milk, is brought to the tables piping hot in pots, as is the coffee.

A choice of food is available at all times of the day. Customers can enjoy a mixed salad, beef Carpaccio, smoked salmon, foie gras, or, after 7.00 pm, seasonal dishes prepared by the chef. Les Deux Magots also offers — in situ or through its website — a range of themed items (plates, cups, bottles of champagne, etc.), all made with the same respect for quality, which is the establishment’s hallmark.

Finally, at Les Deux Magots, artistic expression still takes pride of place. Every year, the Prix des Deux Magots is given to the author of an original and quality work of literature; the Prix Pelléas is awarded for a work of literature devoted to music; and, last but not least, Les Deux Magots also participates in the Prix Saint Germain, which rewards artists across a range of disciplines — from architecture, the cinema and the theatre, to the world of design and fashion.

About Les Deux Magots

The original Les Deux Magots establishment is situated in the heart of the French capital, in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés quarter, on the south bank of the River Seine.

Les Deux Magots has already set up a sister café in Tokyo (Japan). Management is looking to expand the concept and the brand further internationally, with the help of non-French investors.

For more information, go to: www.lesdeuxmagots.com

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