California cool in rural Ontario
The door handles crafted from full-size axes are the first signs that Paris Surf is unlike anything else in town.
That out-of-place vibe deepens once you step into the crazy-beautiful mix of hipster flare, ’90s neon and California cool.
There is a stuffed Buffalo head rearing out of the wall. Premium denim and bright T-shirts are stacked on rustic wood shelves. Fifty-nine chandeliers hang mishmash from the ceiling, lighting the space, a combination clothing store, pizzeria, coffee shop, juice counter and neighbourhood bar.
“I brought California to Paris, Ont.,” says Chip Foster, owner of Paris Surf. “Walk in and you’re in Venice Beach. The environment is sick. We didn’t hold out on anything.”
Yes, this is that Chip Foster, identical twin brother of Pepper Foster, who together formed the now-famous Chip & Pepper apparel brand long adored by celebrities, including Jessica Simpson, Bruce Springsteen and Naomi Campbell. In 1991, the duo starred in the popular Chip and Pepper’s Cartoon Madness Saturday mornings on NBC. That was the gig, Foster says, that changed their lives.
Born and raised in Winnipeg — he has lived in L.A. for more than 30 years — Foster, 53, has ties to Canada with a cottage in Lake of the Woods, near Kenora, Ont., and now with these new roots in Paris.
Foster says his ex-wife, who is Canadian, (they were married 14 years) left Malibu, Calif., so she could enrol their three children in a private school near Paris and he, not wanting to miss out on his kids’ lives, followed along.
In some ways, Foster sees Paris Surf, quietly launched at the end of 2016, as a clubhouse for his kids, a place where they can eat pizza and hang out while their dad travels.
“I’m like a rock star; I live a great life, I’m always getting on a plane,” Foster says. “This is a little space for them that has a little bit of me.”
Paris Surf is also a new and exciting brand for Foster, one that he wants to see expand beyond its small town location. Paris, located in the County of Brant, has a population of about 12,000.
For now, the store — sandwiched between a florist shop and a housewares store and across the street from a lonely looking LCBO — is the only place you can buy the Canadian-made apparel, stitched from Canadian-made fabric and emblazoned with the Paris Surf logo. The trucker hats and toques are popular items. So, too, are the Chip Foster jeans (these are made in the United States and overseas) that come in a multitude of washes and styles and cost between $200 and $400.
Foster, of course, wants you to buy the clothes. He designed them — and the logo — with a particular esthetic in mind.
“We made all that stuff very old school; ’80s collars, the sweatshirts a little bit bigger, everything is up a size,” he says in his growly nearshout of a voice. “It’s a great place to get a uniform of cool — K-O-L, KOL!”
But he also wants you to stay for the pizza. After all, he went to New York City to learn how to make the thincrust creations from scratch.
“I’ve spent my life designing clothes. But I wanted to do some- thing fresh . . . so I decided, ‘I’m going to make pizza!’ I went and learned from the best.
“There’s cheeseburger pizza, Philly cheese steak pizza, chicken Caesar salad pizza. My mouth is watering talking about them. The BLT pizza is the best. It is deadly.”
Foster is over-the-top enthusiastic about Paris Surf. He bounds through the restaurant, greeting people with a smile and a handshake and insisting on holding the camera for selfies with happy customers.
This is the way he wants his brand to reach the world, “whispering out” on social media, slowly creating its own organic buzz (this is Foster’s first media interview about Paris Surf ). That is, until he hosts Paris Surf’s big coming-out party with Jason Priestly, Ryan Gosling and other Canadian celebrities.
“I’m waiting for the right time. Wait till you see the guest list. It’s going to be epic.”
Since making it big in the early 1990s, Foster and his brother have opened more than 200 Chip & Pepper stores around the world, including in New York City, L.A. and London, England. So, why this new store — beautifully curated and the first to serve food and drinks — in smalltown Ontario? And why call it Paris Surf when the nearest ocean is hundreds of kilometres away?
“I knew this town was hot,” he says. “There’s the Grand River; the area is an unbelievable place to hang out. And, I dunno, Paris needed a surf shop.”