Café de la Soul Celebrates 5th Year as Web Portal to Black Paris

Top online reference to Black Paris celebrate's its 5th year anniversary with a new look and launches "Café Gear", promotional items donning the sites logo.

San Francisco – When Robin Bates, founder and CEO of Café de la Soul, went to Paris in 1989 to study the French culture and language she found a city that was rich in Black culture and African American history.

While in Paris, I was pleased to discover that much of African American history in Paris is well documented and traceable, making it possible for me to literally follow in the footsteps of my predecessors," says Bates. Then I thought to myself, ‘Now Im here. How am I going to leave my mark?

Bates returned to her native San Francisco with a deep passion for Paris and a vision to bring Paris Black culture to the forefront. In 1998, with the support and assistance of Constance Bryan, now the Cafés Executive Editor, Café de la Soul was born.

This year the premier English language website on the African American community in Paris celebrates its 5th year of being online. Bates concedes that this was no easy feat: Five years online in the dot.com industry is a milestone, particularly so in our case - Café de la Soul is such a niche" site."

Today, the woman owned and operated Café de la Soul serves as the top online reference for African Americans living in and traveling to Paris. The site gives voice to the modern Black Paris community and addresses the interests and needs of today's urban travelers, all while highlighting a virtually hidden side of Paris. Simply put, Café de la Soul showcases Black Paris at its absolute best. The sites main features include:

·   An online guide to the best of Black Paris restaurants, nightclubs, jazz and more
·   News and profiles from the Black Paris community
·   Advice columns on working and living in Paris
·   A calendar of Paris events and entertainment

In addition, Café de la Soul has been consistently recognized for its content and design, deemed as one of the coolest" websites online by the following:

·   Internet Cool Guide
·   Suite101.com
·   Everythingblack.com
·   FUBU/Y2G.com
·   Netscape Open Directory
·   Traveling While Black

In honor of the sites 5th year anniversary, Bates launched a new look for Café de la Soul along with Café de la Soul Gear - t-shirts, totes and other promotional items donning the sites logo. Café de la Soul continues to be a leader in the Black Paris arena, taking its visitors, as their tagline says, BEYOND the Eiffel Tower"!

For more information on the Café de la Soul and Black Paris, visit http://cafedelasoul.com, contact Robin Bates at (415) 254-4099 or email her at blackparis@cafedelasoul.com