A family history
The creation of Maison Richard is intertwined with that of Parisian and French life... cafés, bistros, and restaurants, mainly made up of individuals from Auvergne who left their own region and moved to the capital.
The story of Maison Richard begins with the man who founded it, Auguste Fayel. Its creation dates back precisely to the day Pierre Fayel, a distant cousin of Henri Richard, became the owner of a warehouse at 11, rue des Cailloux in Clichy, France.
Henri Richard bought up the family business that he has joined as an employee in 1920, from his cousin Auguste Fayel when he was 40 years old: thus, the Vins Richard (standind for ''Richard Wines'') were born!
The business developed in a way that honoured teamwork as well as relationships with clients, which went beyond the simple role of supplier, as they helped people with their installation or in finding a place to manage.
The tendency to consume wine at bars instead of strong alcohol started to grow. Henri worked more closely with his younger brother, Georges, who was located in Algeria where he ran a trading business for wines as well as several vineyards.
The Clichy warehouses were enlarged in order to implement assembly lines for bottling the wines. At present the wineries can hold 30,000 hl and new holding warehouses have been opened in the East of Paris, in Bercy.
The era of the litre has taken over that of the barrel.
André Richard who is Henri's oldest son, joined the company and created the coffee roasting business in Asnières. In 1964, Pierre Richard, his brother, joined the company after finishing his studies and developed the coffee business in Paris.
Pierre Richard took over the Cafés Ladoux, which was historically located at 71, rue Lecourbe in Paris in the 15th district, following his father in law, Julien Ladoux.
Cafés Richard decides to establish its coffee roasting operation in Gennevilliers, which is still the company’s headquarter.
The company spread to the provinces, starting with Tours with the opening of a roasting facility. Today, Cafés Richard covers the entire national territory thanks to 12 regional offices.
Arnaud Richard and Anne Richard Bellanger joined their father's side at the company.
Total renovation of the roasting site in Gennevilliers when they bought cutting edge coffee roasters and acquired efficient packaging lines, in full consideration and respect for the spirit of French tradition inherent in artisanal industries.
Creation of Comptoirs Richard shops (Cafés Richard gourmet retail boutiques). There are 6 shops located in the lively streets of Paris among many shops throughout the capital.
With its commitment to the quality of its products and to sharing the knowledge of its experts, Cafés Richard has become a certified training organization with the Académie du Café.
The Gennevilliers site began a quality operation by obtaining the ISO 9001 certificate.
Creation of the Export Department, thriving in full steam today, with distributors from Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Americas...
Inauguration of new premises for the Académie du Café, in a beautiful space equipped with Barista stalls, tasting rooms, a laboratory, as well as many applied modules. Along with all this, the UniversiThé opened in the same location and is devoted to teas and herbal infusions.
