Café Procope

About

The Café Procope (French pronunciation: [kafe pʁokɔp]), also known as Le Procope ([lə pʁokɔp]), on the Rue de l'Ancienne Comédie, is a café in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. The original café was opened in 1686 by the Sicilian chef Procopio Cutò (also known by his Italian name Francesco Procopio dei Coltelli and his French name François Procope); it became a hub of the Parisian artistic and literary community in 18th and 19th centuries. It sometimes is erroneously called the oldest café in the world in continuous operation (the Queen's Lane Coffee House in Oxford England has been in continuous operation since 1654); however, the original café closed in 1872 and the space was used in various ways before 1957, when the current incarnation (not a café but a restaurant) was opened, so the claim of "oldest café in continuous operation" is not supported.