Tom Dixon Revives Paris’s Original Midcentury Drugstore

When advertising executive Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet opened Publicis Drugstore, in 1958, it was the first of its kind in Paris—an American-style grocery and convenience store stocking everything from champagne and cigars to books and jewelry, with a brasserie and pharmacy. Nearly six decades later, Tom Dixon’s Design Research Studio has reimagined the restaurant, creating a stylish space inspired by the glamour of 1960s advertising for French chef Éric Fréchon, an alum of the lauded Epicure at Le Bristol Paris hotel, to riff on classic bistro dishes. Dixon nods to the original in subtle ways; his custom dining chairs and bar stools in steel, leather, and velvet, echo a 1950s collection by French midcentury decorator Mathieu Matégot for Publicis. From the reeded-glass bookcase and yellow wool wingback chairs in the patisserie to Dixon’s copper Melt lights released at Salone de Mobile this year, materials were central to the makeover. “I love materials that are alive,” he says. “Brass, marble, brick—materials that grow more beautiful with time.” Outside, rattan seats, stained brushed-oak tables, and a wraparound glass facade provide a desirable setting in which to partake in the most Parisian of pastimes: people-watching.

Read more about Paris’s restaurant revival.

 (Photos: Peer Lindegreen, courtesy Le Drugstore)