We left the U.S. and opened a bar in Paris that generates up to $34,100 a month: "Living in Paris is effortless"

In 2022, after relocating from the U.S. to Paris, Allison Kave visited a local café and ordered a martini.

Instead of the traditional gin cocktail, she was given a glass of vermouth. The mix-up was reassuring for Kave, as she had moved abroad to escape the city's inconsistent cocktail expertise.

Jennifer Crain, an American ex-pat living in Paris, and her co-founder Kave have established Abricot, a cocktail bar located in the city's 10th arrondissement. Crain's inspiration for the bar came from her own experiences in Parisian bars, where she felt a lack of delicious cocktails and indulgent plant-based food, despite growing up near San Francisco.

In February 2023, Abricot opened and generated nearly $285,800 in U.S. dollars in the past 12 months, according to CNBC Make It. The bar's highest earning month was September, with $34,100 in revenue. However, their earnings fluctuate in the summer due to the influx of tourism and locals leaving the city for vacation, they say.

The bar has a small staff consisting of three hourly employees and three contract employees. Crain and Kave decide on a month-to-month basis how much to pay themselves based on the bar's performance. However, they state that the trans-Atlantic move was already worth it, regardless of the amount of money they earn.

Kave, 44, says that living here has an ease to it, which is due to the patient and conversational customers and the locals' emphasis on leisure and culture.

""Crain, 49, remarks that overworking is not a badge of honor and people do not socially compete by working excessively,"."

Crain and Kave collaborated to launch Abricot, and their experience of relocating abroad significantly impacted their lives.

'Homegrown' efforts

Crain owned an acupuncture clinic and three Airbnb rental units in Austin, Texas, before moving to Paris for her husband's job in 2012. Upon arriving, she discovered that the city, famous for its wine, had a "underdeveloped" cocktail culture, she claims.

Kave, an entrepreneur in the U.S., had a made-to-order pie business and co-founded Butter and Scotch, a bakery in Brooklyn, New York. In 2019, she discovered she enjoyed starting new businesses more than running them and began working as a restaurant consultant.

Kave and Crain's idea for a Parisian cocktail bar was introduced to them by a mutual connection shortly after, and they began expanding on it. However, their plans were disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, leading to the closure of Butter and Scotch. In response, the founders decided to start small and began selling cocktails door-to-door in October 2020 under the name Izzy's Paris.

In her Brooklyn apartment kitchen, Kave developed recipes, which Crain refined and fine-tuned before launching operations in Paris. This eventually involved her family and friends.

"Crain recounts that the deliveries were all made from home, with her husband driving, her older son on a bicycle, and her friend's son also on a bicycle."

Ex-pat learning curves

The success of Izzy's was short-lived, as Parisians returned to work, bars, and restaurants after Covid-19 vaccines became widely distributed, causing sales to drop.

Crain and Kave decided to open their brick-and-mortar shop after interpreting the situation as a sign. They discovered a location and named their business Abricot, which is French slang for female genitalia. "We wanted the name to be feminine, juicy, fresh, and cheeky," Crain explains.

The co-founders raised an additional $27,300 through crowdfunding before opening, which was intended to cover operating costs.

Some key differences between starting a business in the U.S. and France were quickly learned by them.

Crain estimated it would take three months to file paperwork and open the business. However, it took more than a year to take over the storefront's lease and acquire a liquor license due to the banker going on vacation for six weeks without anyone taking over their post.

Abricot paid rent for over a year before it opened, and they gradually raised an additional $170,000 through a first-round equity raise, according to Crain.

In Europe, employers in France contribute the highest average social security rate of 45%, while employees in the U.S. contribute 12.4% and cover half of it themselves.

The perils, and joys, of running a Parisian bar

The founders of Abricot say that while it was more challenging to open the restaurant in the U.S., running it abroad has its own unique set of challenges.

In France, there are fewer liquor conglomerates, which means more vendors to choose from and negotiate with. Health department inspections often result in guidance rather than scolding. Additionally, both entrepreneurs and employees in France have access to universal health care.

The lifestyle makes the biggest difference: Crain and Kave were content in the U.S., but they have greater control over their time in Paris, they claim. Crain used to spend nearly two hours daily in traffic, commuting between daycare and work. Now, when she escorts her children home from school, they frequently pause for pastries, she admits.

They've had their fair share of uncertainty a year in. On Halloween, Abricot was short-staffed and experienced an unexpected influx of customers. It was like a scene from FX's "The Bear," Crain recalls: She recalls looking up and seeing a flurry of drink tickets, instead of cocktails, lined up at the bar.

Abricot has achieved stability, as evidenced by their slim profit margin in the last year, and there are moments when they can bask in their achievements.

"Recently, I sat on the terrace and observed the scene inside. The lights were on, and a new employee was taking an order and smiling, while another was preparing a drink and smiling. This moment made me emotional as it was the first time I felt, "I believe we will succeed.""

Using the OANDA conversion rate of 1 EUR to 1.0947 USD on August 6, 2024, all amounts were rounded to the nearest dollar.

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