Paris Baguette Partners With Sung Park To Build Neighborhood Bakery Café Presence in Bethesda

BETHESDA, MD –  Paris Baguette, the bakery café concept with 4,000 units worldwide, is growing quickly in America. With over 160 bakery cafés in the U.S., over 100 awarded and 70 leases signed, they have built a strong presence nationwide. Now, they are growing in Bethesda. Sung Park, and his wife are pioneering the expansion with the recent execution of a lease to open their bakery café at 4925 Fairmont Ave, Bethesda, MD 20814.

“We’re on a mission to revive the concept of the neighborhood bakery café across the U.S., and we’re excited to see the Park’s take this on in their own community,” said Eric Lavinder, chief development officer. “No other bakery café franchisors are doing what Paris Baguette is on the same scale. Our ability to stay true to our bakery café roots while embracing rapid growth has allowed us to bring an unmatched experience to communities nationwide, and we’re proud to know that Bethesda will be a part of that growth.”

Once opened, the Bethesda café will bring the total number of bakery cafés in Maryland to 2. As the Parks begin development, they say they are working to open their first of four bakery cafés in Q4 2024.

“We were looking for a business venture that she could manage and start her own career with. We went into a Paris Baguette store in Virginia and we reminisced about Paris Baguette back home in Korea where they’re a dominant player. We always liked their product, so we started looking into if they were a franchise. We reached out to them and we're now making an effort to create something for my wife,” Sung said.

As they grow, Paris Baguette continues to stand out thanks to their clear commitment to quality, service and connection. A crucial step to maintaining this value is finding the right location for each bakery café. With an unwavering commitment to securing nothing but the best real estate sites, Paris Baguette supports their franchisees in identifying and analyzing prime real estate in their markets to select the option that lends itself to the most elevated experience.

The real estate selection process creates a foundation upon which franchisees can develop other key aspects of the Paris Baguette experience. Rather than leveraging an impersonal, quick-service model that emphasizes quantity over quality, for example, Paris Baguette remains committed to providing a great experience to each guest. From baked goods made in-café daily to a warm atmosphere and happy, welcoming team, each aspect of the Paris Baguette model embodies the vision of a neighborhood bakery café — your neighborhood bakery café.

“One of the sayings our teams throughout the system embody is, ‘Happy to see you. Even happier to serve you.’ And we know the Parks will wholeheartedly embrace this approach in their neighborhood,” added Lavinder. “The people throughout the Paris Baguette system are what make the experience so sweet, and the Park’s choice to bring the concept to their own community is another step in the right direction.

As their growth continues, Paris Baguette is looking to the 1,000-unit mark in the U.S. and working to expand through meaningful partnerships with local entrepreneurs who show a genuine interest in uniting their neighbors through connections over delicious baked goods and fresh coffee drinks.

In the $17 billion bakery segment, it is Paris Baguette’s person-first approach that allows them to differentiate themselves, offering an attractive opportunity for entrepreneurs looking to build something both lucrative and meaningful. The brand’s consistently strong average unit volumes speak to the strength of the model, but Paris Baguette has never lost sight of their mission to revive the neighborhood bakery café.

As the team works toward opening 100 bakery cafés and awarding another 150 this year, they are focused on bringing the Paris Baguette experience to neighborhoods in Texas, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky.

ABOUT PARIS BAGUETTE: 

Paris Baguette is a bakery café franchise with more than 4,000 units across the globe. The global brand first franchised in the U.S. in 2015 and has since established over 160 locations in markets across the country, making it one of the premier franchise opportunities in its category. Paris Baguette’s primary mission, executed every day by its expert staff of bakers, cakers and baristas, is to share moments of joy with guests and help guests share moments of joy with their friends and family by providing world-class cakes, pastries, coffees, breads and other French-inspired bakery café fare. To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://ownaparisbaguette.com/.