Skip to main content
Paul Sharo

Paul Sharo

Founder of Man Met Bril Koffie, the Rotterdam-based specialty coffee roastery and "coffee hotel", and a pioneer of the Dutch specialty coffee scene.

Jun 5, 2026

5THWAVE - The Business of Coffee and Hospitality

5THWAVE - The Business of Coffee and Hospitality

Learnings from Dutch coffee pioneers Menno Simons and Paul Sharo – recorded live at The Amsterdam Coffee Festival

Jun 5 · 39m

Geoffrey Young
Geoffrey YoungHOST
23:47
that just paint a picture?
Paul Sharo
Paul SharoGUEST
23:51
Yeah.
Paul Sharo
Paul SharoGUEST
23:51
So when we started about 12 years ago, we really saw the demographic of our clientele changing.
Paul Sharo
Paul SharoGUEST
23:58
But Rotterdam went from this gray city to this really vibrant touristy.
Paul Sharo
Paul SharoGUEST
24:02
I mean, not like Amsterdam touristy, but we went from nothing to something.
Paul Sharo
Paul SharoGUEST
24:06
And for us, we saw that change happening in the coffee bar.
Paul Sharo
Paul SharoGUEST
24:10
In the beginning, we would be open only for locals.
Geoffrey Young
Geoffrey YoungHOST
28:26
So real journey a year in, what have you learned from hotels that maybe you didn't anticipate before?

We value your privacy

We use cookies to understand how you use our platform and to improve your experience. Click “Accept All” to consent, or “Decline non-essential” to opt out of non-essential cookies. Read our Privacy Policy.