There’s nothing quite like a hot croissant and a creamy latte, but many of the options in the U.S. for French pastries are lackluster—which could explain the success of Paris Baguette, a “French-inspired bakery café with South Korean roots,” according to their website.
At these chic little cafés, you’ll find traditional Francophile favorites like pain au chocolate, fruit pastry, and quiche lorraine, as well as Korean delights such as sticky milk buns, mochi donuts, and pastry franks (essentially a hot dog wrapped in a croissant, which, my husband can attest, is delicious). If your mouth is watering right now, you may be in luck, as Paris Baguette just announced that it’s opening more than 100 new locations across the U.S. and Canada in 2025.
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Paris Baguette is rapidly expanding in the U.S.
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Paris Baguette was founded in Seoul, South Korea, in 1986 and opened its first U.S. location in 2005 and its first Canadian location in 2023, according to a recent press release. This past December, the company announced its 200th North American outpost after opening 51 new locations in 2024, “a double-digit increase from 2023,” according to Restaurant Dive.
“This continued growth reflects our dedication to offering an authentic bakery café experience and spreading joy to our guests each and every day. We’re proud to be re-establishing the neighborhood bakery as the heart of the community, and this milestone sets the stage for even further growth in the coming years,” said CEO Darren Tipton at the time.
With this in mind, the company has a big-picture goal of hitting the “1,000-café milestone” in North America by 2030. To start, they’ll open more than 100 locations this year, with the following 83 cafés already in development:
- 34 in Texas
- 33 in New Jersey
- 16 in Georgia
According to the Dec. press release, “Paris Baguette has over 115 cafés coming soon nationwide and is poised to break into Connecticut, Delaware, Guam, Puerto Rico, Missouri, and Oklahoma in the coming years.”
Best Life has reached out to Paris Baguette about specific locations of the new cafés and will update this story with their response.
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The bakery is betting big on franchising.
While the chain started with cafés in big cities like New York and Los Angeles, it has since expanded into smaller cities and towns like Red Bank, NJ, and Glen Ellyn, Illinois. Part of its success is its franchising model.
As RestaurantNews.com reports, “Paris Baguette has shown consistent growth in sales and guest loyalty, achieving 16 consecutive quarters of positive comparable sales growth.”
In fact, Paris Baguette recently landed in the 42nd spot on Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500 list, coming in first in the bakery category.
And franchisees seem happy: Restaurant Dive states that 70 to 80 percent are multi-unit operators.
“I always knew I wanted to start a business that would integrate organically into the community my family and I are part of. We spent several months searching for options that could be profitable, while aligning with the ideals we pursue, and Paris Baguette became a clear choice for us,” said Jorge Molina, a franchisee partner at a new store in Woodlands, Texas, in an interview with Verdict Food Service.