This is the story of a tiny paved street in the heart of Paris. If this were a fairytale, it would involve frogs that have turned into princes and pumpkins that have transformed into golden carriages. In just five years, the Rue du Nil – literally, ‘Nile Street’ – has gone from a nondescript nothing street to a super-hot food destination. What made it appear on the gastronomic Paris map? Well, it received the proverbial kiss from Greg Marchand, a French chef who chose it as the location for his bistro.
In 2009, the young Greg was returning from a few years cooking abroad – Spain, New York, Hong Kong and London. His nickname then was ‘Frenchie’, and he lent it to his own 20-seat restaurant, a tiny space with historic charm, stone walls and exposed beams.
Frenchie’s focus on authentic, seasonal ingredients and its globally inspired cuisine quickly made it a favourite of the Paris gastro crowd, and soon enough it became a full-time job to try and score a reservation.
But even then, people still went, “Huh?” when you mentioned Rue du Nil. Because of its position on the edge of the Sentier neighbourhood, which has been the garment district of Paris since the 19th century, the shops that lined it were mostly shuttered, used as storage space by local textile companies.
But Frenchie’s popularity gave Parisians a reason to go there. Even without a reservation there was hope to snatch a table for the late dinner service, and while you waited, as weather permitted, you could still chat with your friends and linger in the street.
It was this crowd that Greg decided to cater to, with a more flexible formula, when he took over the space opposite his restaurant. In 2011 he opened Frenchie Bar à Vins, a no-reservation wine bar where drinks are downed with small plates made from beautifully sourced ingredients.
Among the menu items was a pulled pork sandwich that Greg’s wife Marie was so crazy about she convinced him to create a third restaurant, on the same Rue du Nil, which was starting to feel like their own backyard by then. This one would celebrate the kind of street food they had experienced and loved abroad, with a French approach. This was how Frenchie To Go was born, in 2013, selling high-quality versions of classic sandwiches using house-made or locally sourced ingredients.
Meanwhile, Greg kept developing relationships with suppliers and partners, many of whom had become his friends. Among them were Alexandre Drouard and Samuel Nahon, who had created a company in 2008 called Terroirs d’Avenir – ‘terroirs with a future’.
The two young men were members of Slow Food, and fresh out of school they decided they wanted to help small French growers sell rare varieties of vegetables and heritage breeds to chefs who would appreciate and pay for them at their rightful value.
They started with a narrow range of just six products and, little by little, developed a strong network of boutique producers and exacting chefs, from Septime’s Bertrand Grébaut to Yam’Tcha’s Adeline Grattard, and put into place the logistical organisation to get goods from the former to the latter with the shortest possible delays.
Their venture received a good amount of press and soon enough everyday food lovers were calling them up at all hours of the day to find out how they, too, could lay their hands on heirloom cabbage from Pontoise or spring chicken from La Cour d’Armoise. This prompted them to seek a location to open a proper outlet.
And wouldn’t you know it, their client and friend Greg Marchand alerted them to the availability of not one, not two, but three shops they could take over on Rue du Nil. This was perfect: Alexandre and Samuel had a vision of recreating a village-like shopping experience, and here they could open a produce stall on the south side of the street, and on the pavement opposite, a butcher shop elbow-to-elbow with a fish shop.
Discerning home cooks flock here to buy the makings of their fancy dinners and weeknight meals, knowing they are getting the best run for their money. The goods aren’t cheap by any measure, but they are well curated and seasonal. Every black Pardailhan turnip purchased, every grass-fed rib steak and every line-caught sea bream is a vote in favour of small producers who work the old-fashioned way.
A sentiment that is certainly shared by coffee roaster Hippolyte Courty, who also benefited from a friendly tip by his buddy Greg when he acquired a tiny storefront facing Frenchie To Go at the same time Terroirs d’Avenir opened. Like them, he is passionate about small-scale growers, whom he travels the world to meet, advise and buy beans from.
His company is called L’Arbre à Café – ‘the coffee tree’ – and it specialises in exceptional coffee grown on biodynamic farms from Ethiopia to India, working with the growers to select heirloom varieties, decide which plots to plant them on and how to process them post-harvest. He then imports these beans and roasts them in small batches in his workshop in Paris’s 14th arrondissement, where he also meets with the chefs and restaurateurs who buy coffee to serve at their establishments.
Yet he, too, wanted a space where he could give individuals a taste of his outstanding beans, and he happily hopped aboard the Rue du Nil train, inspired by the common vision he shares with his neighbours: to place quality and excellent taste at the centre of his customers’ experience, and invite them to share in his passion.
The aura of these innovative food entrepreneurs has boosted the street’s appeal as no one would have predicted, making it an exciting and offbeat destination for Parisians and gourmet tourists alike. Already others are eyeing the handful of empty storefronts that remain to be snatched; it’s anyone’s guess what will open next, but those in the know will be watching that space.
Recipes
Salmon with coffee and sweet potato rice
Roasted beetroot soup with raspberry and horseradish
Photography by Sivan Askayo.
As seen in Feast magazine, August 2014, Issue 34. For more recipes and articles, pick up a copy of this month's Feast magazine or check out our great subscriptions offers here.
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