Bookworm Café

Denis Rivière of Grenoble owns and operates the Bookworm Café (91 rue Saint Laurent), Grenoble’s newest English-friendly establishment. Christina Rebuffet-Broadus of Grenoble Life talks with him and his English wife Dawn about setting up a used book shop and tea room in one of Grenoble’s historic neighborhoods.

Grenoble Life: Could you tell us a little about the people behind the Bookworm Café?

Denis Rivière: I’ve always lived in Grenoble and I’ve been working since I was 18, in several different jobs. After having obtained a BTS in sales, I worked especially as a sales administration manager.

Thanks to this professional experience, I knew what it was to run a company. However, the times being what they are, I was laid off, like so many people today. I wanted to take it as an opportunity to work for myself. And people gave me lots of suggestions as to what kind of business to set up, but it was my wife who had the right one. So I’ll let her tell you about it.

GL: Yes, please tell us, how was the idea of Bookworm Café born?

Dawn Rivière: Originally from Shrewsberry, England, I’ve been in Grenoble since 1991 and the idea of a tea room/book shop had been running around in my head for quite some time. Before, in the quartier des antiquaires, there was a bookshop called Just Books. It was magnificent, an intimate little boutique, with tons of books—used books, new books and I always thought it would be great if there was a tea room right there in the book shop. Quite a lot of us felt the same way. We said why not, in Grenoble, have a used book shop that was also a tea room?

So, Denis and I discussed it for a long time, we thought about its potential and viability, and finally we said, “why not?” It’s something that didn’t exist in Grenoble and that market needed to be filled.  English book shop tea rooms exist in Paris, but Grenoble had yet to have one. I remember when I was in a student in Coventry, we had such a tea room, where my friends and I would eat and buy our books for school. The whole atmosphere was really fantastic.

GL: Where did you get the name, The Bookworm Café?

Dawn: We had several ideas. We considered The Literary Café, but thought it sounded a bit pompous. We were afraid that the name would frighten people who didn’t consider themselves to be very literary or intellectual. Of course The Bookworm Café was in consideration. So we made a list of four or five names and passed around to friends of ours, and The Bookworm Café won.

GL: True, The Bookworm Café sounds warm, cozy, like wrapping up with a good read. And what was it like to start your own business in Grenoble?

Denis: Everything went really well. As all new businesses, I had to register The Bookworm Café with the Chamber of Commerce and they gave me lots of advice on building a business. Thanks to my professional experience, I found the administrative aspects quite manageable. I met lots of people who were very willing to help with the project. Of course, I had a solid project and an accountant who helped with the financial aspects, but the people at the Chamber of Commerce were very pleasant to work with, very helpful.

When you’ve got an idea and you’re sure of it, you have to go for it. And the Chamber of Commerce is not naïve. They know that half of all new businesses fail within their first year, but if you have a viable project, they’re very willing to help. You just can’t be afraid of paperwork and bureaucracy, but once the ball was rolling, everything happened quite quickly.

The Bookworm Café terrace

GL: Grenoble boasts France’s second-largest Anglophone population. Does The Bookworm Café have a mission regarding this population?

Denis: No, not necessarily. It’s true that the Anglophone community likes to get together, in the pubs for example. It’s true that we serve English tea and pastries, but we’re open to everybody, English and French speakers who enjoy the coziness of a typical English atmosphere.

Dawn: We want the Bookworm Café to be a meeting place, like Denis said, for English and French speakers. You don’t have to speak English to enjoy a good cup of tea! Perhaps if we do have a mission for the English community, it’s to provide a good cup of real English tea, which is not so easy to find here in Grenoble!

GL: Tell us a little about the literary side of the Bookworm café. How do the book sales work?

Denis: It’s very simple! We sell used books. Paperbacks start at 50 cents and for the other books, the price depends on the age and the condition of the book. We’re considering putting into place a fidelity card system — each time someone donates a book, we’ll put a stamp on their card and once they’ve earned a certain number of stamps, they get a free cup of tea or something like that. But that project hasn’t been finalized yet. We want to know what our clients would like and then adapt to them.

GL: You also mentioned a book club. That sounds like an exciting idea.

Denis: Starting around mid-September, the Bookworm Café will host a free book club. There will be two groups, surely on Tuesday and Thursday, both starting at 5:30 p.m. We’ll have two groups — one for native speakers and French people who have spent some time abroad or who speak very good English; the other will be for people who enjoy reading in English, but who have more difficulties speaking. And of course both will be free and open to the public.

Dawn: As a teacher at the Université Inter-Ages, I realized that my students liked to get together and speak English together. This would give them, and others who are interested, the chance to practice English. We’ll also have an English server who will take orders and chat in English, just like what the participants would experience if they were in a café in England.

GL: Do you have any other programs that you are considering organizing?

Denis: We’re thinking about doing a class for younger children based on games, songs, things like that. Wednesday morning will surely be for younger children, with classes for older children and teenagers Wednesday afternoon. Since these would be classes, there would be a fee.

We’ll also have a Children’s Hour, with storytelling and and such. This would be a free program to help children have fun and just enjoy listening to English.

These programs will be put into place starting around the rentrée, so if anyone is interested, they should contact us for more information.

GL: The Bookworm Café is in the Saint Laurent neighborhood, which is one of Grenoble’s historical districts. What are your impressions of your neighborhood?

Denis: I’ve known this area for a long time, and back in the day, it was very lively, with butcher shops, green grocers, but since, these things have closed. But the neighborhood is being revived and there is a project underway to renovate the area and create a second city center.

Dawn: It’s a beautiful neighborhood, very charming, very historic – really worth discovering. For us, it’s a bit of a risk to have chosen this neighborhood, as it’s out of the way. There are fewer passersby than in the city center, but we think the people will come here because they like the atmosphere, the books, and the tea. In the city center, no other places that we looked at had the charm of this neighborhood, and we think that will attract people.

GL: Now that we can’t wait to have a comforting cup of tea and get cozy with a good book, where and when exactly can we find you?

Denis: We’re at 91 rue Saint Laurent in Grenoble. The Bookworm Café is open Tuesday through Saturday 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. For more information, please contact us at 04.76.25.29.98 or by email at bookwormcafe@gmail.com

The Bookworm Café is currently closed but will reopen on Thursday. July 30.

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