Sidewalk cafés

Café society

Eat, drink, and make money on the sidewalk

Business and amenity: Sidewalk cafés symbolize Paris for many visitors, but they are also a multi-million Euro source of business for the city. Café owners know that even a little piece of the public sidewalk can be worth a fortune. Today some 8,750 terraces decorate the city and each year brings as many as one thousand new applications.

As good as gold: One owner of a typical small café in the sixth arrondissement reports that only two small tables outdoors, with room for just four chairs, increase his daily gross revenues by 200,00 € (about $265.00), or some 20 percent of receipts over the course of a year.

Revenues for the city: The city of Paris collects between 25 € and 30 € million ($32.5 to $39.0 million) each year in taxes on sidewalk café spaces. The owner of one café on the avenue des Champs-Elysées pays the city 38.000 € ($49,500) each year for use of an unenclosed terrace of 68m2 in area (about 900 ft2).

Smoking ban adds push: Paris city officials estimate that sidewalk terraces—both enclosed and open—have increased in number by about 20 percent over the past five years. Many more terraces have opened or been significantly upgraded since 2008, when a citywide smoking ban went into effect for all interior public spaces.

Cost to operators: Sidewalk café “rental” charges range from 15,00 € – 82,00 € per m2 per year. The most expensive are on the major avenues, and the least expensive on the exterior boulevards. Costs can quadruple if the sidewalk space is enclosed.





Research: Thomas Vonier Architect LLC