How many stories could these walls tell? We are standing in front of the Ancienne Laiterie. It is located at 25 rue Danielle Casanova. This shop front is a relic of a bygone era.
The Ancienne Laiterie was once a creamery. These shops offered various dairy products and eggs. This building’s facade has an Art Deco design. It dates back to the 1930s. The facade extends from the ground floor to the mezzanine.
Look closely at the marble facade. You will see an old sign in wrought metal. It announces “beurre œufs laiterie” which translates to butter eggs dairy.
Inside the Ancienne Laiterie, there is a ceiling. It is signed Benoist et fils. This evokes the work of a family workshop. The workshop was active from 1859 to around 1940. The floral decor is distinctive. It uses a technique called verre fixé. This involves painted canvas glued and protected by glass plates. It was typical of the Benoist et fils workshop.
Both the facade and the interior decor are historically significant. They were listed as historical monuments on May 23 1984.
The Ancienne Laiterie has had varied uses over the years. It has been a tea house and a barber shop. Today, the Ancienne Laiterie is a café.
Let’s step back in time to 18th-century Paris. Farmers from nearby villages sent merchants to sell their goods. They roamed the streets calling out to potential customers. Few shops offered dairy products then. Parisians were slow to embrace milk without processing. They only started consuming it widely after café au lait became fashionable.
The first urban cow sheds appeared. These were located in the heart of Paris. They posed many sanitation problems. In 1802, officials regulated their installation and operation. However, increased hygiene measures were still insufficient. Animals lived in deplorable conditions. They were poorly fed and confined. They often became sick. Milk was often contaminated. It was sometimes mixed with unsuitable products to appear whiter.
The number of Parisian dairies decreased in the late 19th century. In 1892, there were still five hundred. By 1920, there were only thirty. The last three closed after the Second World War.
Goods from farms passed through Les Halles and markets. The sale of cheese and eggs was reserved for fruitiers. Retailers purchased supplies from wholesalers. Butter needed high-quality raw materials. So it was made on farms in the 18th century. Producers from the Paris region like Saint-Germain-en-Laye and Brie were allocated market days. The highly prized Isigny butter was only available from November to May. Salted butter from Brittany Flanders and Boulogne was consumed year-round.
The Ancienne Laiterie stands as a reminder. It is a reminder of a bygone era. It is a testament to the evolution of Parisian commerce. It is a transformation of food culture.