Thirteen years of history. And a new chapter.
Anticafé was born from a simple idea, in 2013, in Paris. A lot has changed since. The concept, though, hasn't.
The idea is born in Paris
Léonid Goncharov, a Ukrainian student and ESCP graduate, brings to France a concept born in Russia and Ukraine: the anti-café. A place where you pay for the time you spend, not what you consume.
The first Anticafé opens on rue Quincampoix, in Paris, near the Pompidou Centre, in April 2013.
The expansion
Louvre, Olympiades, République, Station F, La Défense. Then Lyon, Bordeaux, Strasbourg, Aix-en-Provence, and even Rome.
A one-million-euro round in 2016, then €1.7M with Nexity in 2019. The network grows to as many as fourteen venues. “Anticafé” almost becomes a common noun.
The cycles of a young brand
COVID-19 hits hard a model whose value rests on physical presence. Several venues close. The Paris network shrinks. Some franchisees stop.
We won't gloss over these years. The concept, however, proved its relevance over ten years. At the end of the cycle, two Anticafés keep welcoming their public, every day: Bordeaux and Strasbourg.
The takeover, then the relaunch
The brand is taken over by ILY SARL, a Strasbourg-based company, with a clear mission: to give Anticafé back its rightful place — France's coffee-coworking pioneer, a serious operator, and a brand open to new partners.
New site, new booking platform, partner dashboards, mobile apps. Everything is rethought, for the next ten years.
The next decade will belong to hybrid, local places, run by passionate people.
Not the big corporate coworking networks — but human-scale spaces that blend café, community and work. Anticafé wants to be the brand that lets these places exist, recognise each other, and pool their visibility while keeping their own identity.