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Folks and Sparrows is the latest buzz on the Paris coffee scene, clearly influenced by the Brooklyn-based eateries in which Franck, owner and designer of the café's rustic interiors, spent the last ten years waiting tables before becoming a restaurant manager. The café-épicerie-concept store is his vision; a place that serves outstanding coffee and freshly-made sandwiches carefully wrapped in butcher's paper, as well as stocking an eclectic selection of hand-picked foodstuffs, including canned fish produced by a small Portuguese company, artisanal pickles imported from Brooklyn and cookie mix from Brussels.
Franck did not want a coffee shop that seemed American, rather a coffee shop conceived by an American. And so, his carpenter-musician-artist friend Jeremy was flown over from the States to help put everything together; walls, beams, tiles, shelving, tables, doors, before returning to his timber house in the forest of Woodstock. The story behind Folks and Sparrows is indeed an authentic one with each detail very carefully considered. It also a story of friends, family and even strangers - a friendly passer-by suggested a good window washer - coming together to create their home-away-from-home.
The finished café has a folky feel, with its crossed wooden counters, bunches of wild flowers and lavender on rugged tables and cosy vintage chairs sourced from various antique dealers to sink back in with a smooth cappuccino. Breathing a little of the American Woodstock spirit into the neighbourhood, the spot is sure to become a favourite for locals and visitors alike.