The ECS+COHO Interview Series: Guillaume Paillot de Montabert, Co-founder, Noir Coffee Shop

Each week leading up to the ECS+COHO Expo 2025, 24-26 November at the JW Marriott in Berlin, World Coffee Portal will present exclusive interviews with influential voices in Europe’s coffee and hospitality industries

Founded by Martin Gunther and Guillaume Paillot de Montabert in 2019, Noir Coffee Shop is a leading light in France’s vibrant specialty coffee scene and operates 17 venues across Paris. In 2022, Noir acquired Matamata Coffee Shop in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris and opened a second site in 2024. Today, the business continues to expand across the French capital with a focus on impeccable specialty coffee and carefully curated boutique stores.

As Noir Coffee prepares to make its UK debut in London, Paillot de Montabert speaks to World Coffee Portal about the power of coffee shops as community builders, deciding to drop delivery and why embracing the benefits of globalisation doesn’t necessitate a cookie-cutter approach.

How is the role of coffee shops in France evolving?

At Noir, we believe the high street coffee shop is no longer just a “third place” – it has become a lieu de vie, a genuine human environment embedded in the fabric of everyday life. Especially in a world dominated by remote work, screens, and digital solitude, these spaces are no longer just desirable – they are essential.

We see our coffee shops not only as boutique venues driven by commerce, but as places that regenerate the tissu social – that local social fabric that holds our cities together. People come for the coffee, but they stay for the atmosphere, the community, and the sense of being part of something larger than themselves.

In many ways, the specialty coffee shop is becoming a global successor to traditional gathering spots like the French bistro, the English pub, or the Italian café. Each of these had its codes, its rituals, its specific products.

Today, in an increasingly cosmopolitan and mobile society, the modern coffee shop has become the new international standard of what these spaces used to offer: warmth, welcome, informality, a chance to linger, and – crucially – a sense of belonging.

Young, globally-minded people now land in a new city and immediately search for a coffee shop – not just for caffeine, but for comfort, recognition, and community. They know they’ll find good coffee and a wide range of drinks, staff who are warm without being intrusive, decent Wi-Fi and an atmosphere that allows them to be themselves. They’re not coming in for a quick transaction – they’re coming for a vibe and human rhythm.

In a world where most things can be replicated, community cannot

At Noir, this is what we strive to build: not just coffee shops, but modern lieux publics (open 365 days a year, morning to evening) that participate in the creation of meaningful, everyday human connections. It’s not a nostalgic idea. It’s a deeply contemporary one.

How does your brand contribute to community-building in a digital-first world?

Community starts with presence. In a digital-first world, where most things are becoming virtual, we believe what’s physical is gaining in symbolic and emotional value. That’s why we made a conscious choice: we stopped all delivery services like Deliveroo. Why? Because a cup of coffee is not just about caffeine – it’s about context. And a cold flat white in a cardboard cup, arriving 20 minutes late, is not the experience we want.

At Noir, our customers come in person because that’s where the value is. Most of them are regulars. Some come every day, some come twice a day. Our baristas know them by name, know their usual drink, and sometimes even notice when their energy is off. These micro-connections are the atoms of community. They turn a barista into a familiar face, a reference point — not just a server, but a figure of the neighbourhood.

We also build community internally. Our baristas are selected and trained to be three things: experts in craft, champions of hospitality, and ambassadors for the product. They don’t just know how to extract a shot – they understand the journey of the bean, the ethics behind our sourcing, and the value of transparency. They’re storytellers. They give a voice to the work of farmers, importers, roasters, and creators. They transmit meaning.

Then, there is a third layer of community – the specialty coffee movement itself. It’s a global culture built on respect, craft, and sustainability. This community is strong because it’s meaningful. It doesn’t only sell a lifestyle; it promotes values. And our role in it is to participate actively – through barista competitions, training with Noir Academy, direct relationships with producers, and a constant effort to elevate the entire supply chain.

Customers are not fools. They sense when a place is a copy of a copy

Ultimately, we believe that in a world where most things can be replicated, community cannot. It must be cultivated by humans, for humans, through real moments. That’s why we do what we do – and why we take pride in being a small but solid bastion of human connection in a world that’s becoming increasingly artificial.

Stunning interior design at Noir Coffee Shop, Bd Beaumarchais in Paris, France | Photo credit: Courtesy of Noir Coffee Shop

Has globalisation diluted or enriched coffee culture?

The answer, honestly, is both. And we need to embrace this tension. On the one hand, globalisation has created a new international language of coffee culture — with clear codes, design aesthetics, preparation methods, and expectations that are recognised from Tokyo to Copenhagen. This has massively improved the quality. It’s made traceability and ethics more mainstream. It’s allowed talented producers, roasters, and baristas to shine on a global stage. And it’s brought more people into the world of coffee, not just as a commodity, but as a culture.

At the same time, we must be honest: globalisation has flattened many of the unique and deeply local traditions that once defined how people interacted with coffee. The traditional Portuguese café, North African coffee and the French tabac counter espresso – these are disappearing, replaced by copy-paste coffee shops with the same furniture, same menu, same vibe.

We see the limits of that, especially in Paris. The market is saturated with nearly identical cafés — same fonts, same cups, same banana bread. Customers are not fools. They sense when a place is a copy of a copy. They crave truth, not just polish.

At Noir, we try to avoid that trap. We honour what globalisation has made possible – better tools, better beans, better knowledge – while fighting for singularity. We design our spaces with personality. We choose our people, our music, our ceramics, and our sourcing with intent. We want our shops to feel like a place with a voice, not just a generic algorithmic template.

So yes, globalisation has diluted certain aspects – but it has also awakened a global appetite for something better. And when handled with intention, it can become a force that lifts everyone: the farmer, the roaster, the barista, and the guest.

And in an era where AI threatens to mechanise even creativity, these handmade, human spaces will only grow more precious. Coffee is not just a product, it’s also a pretext for connection. And that’s a currency the digital world can never counterfeit.