In 2022, the city of Marseille launched a contest to give kiosks a new lease on life in order to prevent them from falling through the cracks – the only requirement was to submit an innovative project
From New York music to Marseille
Before discovering the bartender life, Tony Collins was a music producer who decided to move to New York for work reasons. Quickly coffee became an essential part of his life, to the point that he decided to enroll in a bartender course. It was during the holidays in 2018 that he returned to France to visit his mother in Marseille. A while into his stay, he realized there were no coffee shops around. In less than a month, he left New York for the cold French Riviera and established his first project.
It was near Marseille’s old port that Deep Coffee was born. The café was the international hot spot for anyone needing a break during the day, thanks to the display of independent magazines and the different coffee blends. Among the journals, people were able to taste and also buy products from Deep Coffee’s roastery. In fact, Mr. Collins decided to go beyond the traditional business model and produce his own coffee.
The Kiosk: an experience for the morning journal
Scattered throughout the city of Marseille there are several kiosks now abandoned, that, since the nineteenth century, have been an essential part of public life. These kiosks were newsstands dedicated mainly to the sale of newspapers. Their positions were strategic, citizens were used to buying their journals on the way to work, but with the digital takeover, the paper format has seen a downturn in sales. This decline also involved those who were working inside the kiosks, becoming less significant every day.
In 2022, the city of Marseille decided to launch a contest to give kiosks a new lease on life in order to prevent them from falling through the cracks. In the tender, the only requirement was to submit an innovative project. Mr. Collins decided to take the leap and expand Deep Coffee. After winning the band, the restoration works begin.
An ancient district is home to the kiosk of Mr. Collins
Accordingly, the local residents are mainly families, hence the reasons to stay open only in the weekday mornings. As a result, the newsstand will continue its tradition of being a place where people stop early in the morning before moving to work or school. The kiosk also attracts students interested in independent magazines who live in the neighboring university district.
Mr. Collins’s idea was to realize a mini coffee shop that left the façade unchanged. Therefore, newsstand apparel remained unchanged, preserving its heritage while enhancing space for the exposure of magazines, while the inside was transformed into a café. The inspiration came from Japan’s outside counter, where people can decide on a takeaway or a more extended station in the public spaces for a coffee and read a magazine
A projected future and a climate-conscious approach
The passion for magazines in Mr. Collins was born during his period as a music producer. His inspirations came mostly from independent publications, mainly related to music, but also from travel and art magazines. Inside Deep Coffee, all the selection is picked out by Mr. Collins himself. He pays attention to selecting copies that are from all around the world, mainly written in English and French, with the common thread being the fact of being realized by independent publishers.
Aside from that, there is the possibility of tasting locally made coffee blends. Customers have the opportunity to enter a different atmosphere that helps them take a break from the city’s rhythm. For this reason, Mr. Collins suggests combinations such as pairing music and travel magazines with filtered coffee.
Deep Coffee is therefore a store with a projected future and a climate-conscious approach. This made Mr. Collins cautious when considering and realizing upcycling materials for its coffee brand. Thus, inside the store, people can bring their own cups in order to stop additional waste. Even for occasional customers, they can drink their coffee from disposable caps that are compostable.
The future for Deep Coffee
The story of Deep Coffee doesn’t come to an end as of right now. In fact, Mr. Collins is already thinking about the future. Firstly, he plans to expand with another store in the same city, Marseille. Therefore – as the first point already introduced – its vision is to develop the brand further, comprehending both the coffee shop and roastery.
Secondly, Mr. Collins’s vision aims to move outside the French Riviera, enhancing the business model of Deep Coffee in additional cities and probably also internationally.
Deep Coffee
187 Bd Chave 13005 Marseille, France. Deep Coffee was born in 2018 by the idea of its founder Tony Collis. The first shop, nestled in front of the old port of Marseille, merged magazines with a coffee shop that featured their roastery production. In 2022 the company won a public call that aimed to bring kiosks back to life. After winning the call, they started renovating the place, realizing a public space where independent magazines meet the art of brewing
