Text and images: Omid Tavallai Walking past the trendy boutiques of Rue Tiquetonne, you're likely to see some storefronts that will grab your attention: Freakish mannequins dressed up in cleverly arranged runway hand-me-downs, hipster vintage wear that walks the fine … [CLICK TO READ MORE]
On a narrow cobblestone street in Paris’ Beaubourg district, Simon Thillou is slowly fomenting revolution. Or fermenting, rather… Mild-mannered and extremely friendly, he explains in fluent English, “Paris is not a beer place. It’s difficult for a beer lover to be in Paris for a long time. So that’s the reason I’m here.”
It’s Simon’s mission to turn Parisians on to and supply them with quality beer. And over the last four years (exactly four years, to the day of this writing, in fact) he has slowly but surely been fulfilling his mission. From his shop on Rue Quincampoix, he sells mostly French beers and dispenses useful knowledge and advice. But not only to beardy beer snobs.