Boris Touaty, 30, has revived Cafés Maurice, the coffee roasting and sales company founded by his great-great-grandfather in 1875. To be discovered Sunday, May 30 at 9:05 pm in Capital.
Why did you want to relaunch Cafés Maurice, thirty-eight years after their disappearance?
Boris Touaty: By family passion. In Toulon, I was often told about Cafés Maurice. When I was about 13, understanding the scale of the family roasting business, I looked for old advertisements and pictures that we found in the packages. In 2010, I wrote a book, Cafés Maurice, a Toulon saga. Four years ago, I thought about relaunching the business but by roasting in Toulon, in a small workshop. I was a neophyte. I trained and I met the right people who brought me their know-how.
Wasn’t it risky to open your store in October 2020, in the midst of a pandemic?
I set up the whole project when the Covid did not exist. When I signed, I thought it was a flu. Once the machine has started, it cannot be stopped. I finished work on the store on October 22 and opened on October 24. 48 hours later, I had to close my terrace. I’m still happy with my start. There was an expectation that turned into success.
Relaunching an iconic brand must generate a lot of pressure …
Toulon smelled of coffee all the time because my grandfather’s factory perfumed the city. A lot of Toulonnais remember it and tell me it’s their Proust madeleine. I find this comparison touching. So the pressure is incredible because I can’t start over with a half promise. The idea is not fair to put Cafés Maurice stickers on something that I do not understand. I made it a point of honor to ensure that everything was successful as soon as it opened: roasting on site, bagging, sourcing the coffee. I claim to offer a quality product, roasted in an artisanal way, with an incomparable taste.
Do you plan to open a factory eventually?
I want to develop the business without losing quality and for that, I have to keep the artisan side. But I would like to open other shops in France with roasting on site. Entering, seeing the roaster spinning and smelling the aromas of coffee is part of the Cafés Maurice experience.
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