Julie (not her real name), 42, who doesn't drink because she's breastfeeding, bought a bottle of non-alcoholic white wine after sampling a glass. Thibault, whose purchases included a drink made from fermented bread with a flavour similar to Gueuze, a Belgian beer, explained that he had given up alcohol a month ago for health reasons. The friendly duo of Laborde and Catté were on hand to offer advice. Despite the shop offering student discounts, he admitted that Le Paon does not yet attract as many 20-somethings as it would like to, with purchasing power likely an issue for strapped students.ĭespite Paris being quieter during the summer holidays, on a recent Wednesday afternoon Le Paon attracted a steady stream of customers. He noted that the boutique also attracts "quite a few pensioners, who can no longer drink as much as they used to". They have "no doubt experimented with alcohol, including its excesses, and come to realise that they cannot continue at the same pace". Laborde observed that most of the shop's clients are in their 30s, many of them members of the Millennial generation. " Millennials and pensioners, but few students We enjoy life, it's just that there's this small change of going from alcohol to alcohol-free. "Non-alcoholic doesn't mean sad or dull drinks. "It's just that we want there to be another possibility." He insisted on the inclusivity factor: "Whether you’re pregnant, Muslim, unwell or whatever, everyone is finally included with these drinks, which is not the case with alcohol."īut what about the French bon vivant mentality of enjoying the finer things in life, such as a nice glass of wine? "We are still bons vivants, even without alcohol," said Laborde. "We're absolutely not against alcohol," said Laborde, adding that Catté still drinks (she describes herself as a "flexi-drinker"). Run by both Laborde and manager Maud Catté, also 35, it offers a total of 460 different options: everything from alcohol-free wine and beer, to faux gin, to healthy low-sugar alternatives such as the fermented tea called kombucha.Īugustin Laborde and Maud Catté at Le Paon Qui Boit. And yet I could see that there was demand, or in any case, my friends were talking about it." "And that's when I realised that there was no shop that was really dedicated to the world. "I don't really like buying online as I like going to shops, reading labels, comparing, asking questions," he explained. He realised that non-alcoholic options were difficult to find in bars, restaurants or supermarkets. The store is the brainchild of Augustin Laborde, a 35-year-old with a background in law who stopped drinking shortly before France's 2020 Covid lockdown and spotted an opportunity after seeing that many of his friends were also cutting back. Located in Paris's northern 19th arrondissement (district), an up-and-coming area of the French capital, Le Paon Qui Boit ("The Drinking Peacock") was the first bricks-and-mortar boutique specialising in non-alcoholic drinks to open in France.
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