Multi-Generational Family Combines Business Acumen in Tech and Food Sectors To Open Paris Baguette in Toronto

Toronto is gaining a new family-owned business. Three brothers, who each came to the U.S. with $500 decades ago and built their own American Dreams, are opening their own Paris Baguette* location in Toronto, and they have even welcomed the next generation into the venture. 

Dave Kim, a successful tech professional, was inspired by his father and uncles’ decision to build a business together and chose to invest alongside his family.

After evaluating the opportunity, the group chose to pool their resources, knowing that this would help them achieve even more success collectively. All three brothers are big-time entrepreneurs, having started many successful businesses over the years, and Kim has found that his family’s experiences in different industries and their individual strengths complement each other well.

“We make a great team,” said Kim. “My father and the two uncles own more traditional-style businesses, such as real estates, restaurants and shops, whereas I have run tech companies. I think we are learning a lot from each other.”

Kim’s father, Harry, will be primarily in charge of running the business, while the other members of the team will invest and support him.

In addition to their combined business acumen, this “new family office” has brought about the additional benefit of family bonding. Kim and his father live in Toronto, while his two uncles live in New York and Texas, respectively.

“We have spent a lot of our lives apart from each other, meeting maybe less than five times in the last few decades because of the distance. This project has helped bring us together,” he said.

Paris Baguette is the perfect concept for this family that values a bonding opportunity as they look forward to bringing people in their community together over a cup of coffee and delicious pastry. Their new neighborhood bakery cafe will be located on Yonge & Eglinton and is set to open in Summer 2024.

1851 Franchise spoke with Kim about his journey into franchising and his plans. 

FEATURE QUESTIONS

1851 Franchise: Frame your personal story for us. What did you do before franchising, and how did you decide franchising made sense for you?

Kim: I'm running a tech company that has raised a significant amount of funding; that's my day job. And I was a founding AI engineer at a tech company that got acquired six years ago. 

Paris Baguette is the first project of our new family office; my father, two of my uncles and myself have decided to put our resources together and we hope to expand with multiple locations in the future. 

1851: What was your perception of franchising prior to becoming a franchisee, and what do you want people to know about franchising now that you are in it?

Kim: Before starting, I had the expectation that the process would be extremely complicated, because any business I’ve touched so far was complicated in the beginning stages. Paris Baguette has clearly thought everything through because the setup process has been so far so smooth; it’s just been pleasant and systematic. The brand has done a great job of letting me know the next steps for every hurdle. 

1851: What made you pick this brand? What excites you most about this company?

Kim: The people who are involved in this brand are all really smart and incredibly supportive. I have asked for a lot of advice and asked a lot of complicated questions, and they always have good answers.

1851: What do you hope to achieve with your business? What are your plans for growth? 

Kim: Alongside my uncles and father, I hope to expand the number of locations from this first location to at least five different locations in the next five years.

1851: What is the one thing about your story you want us to know?

Kim: My father has three brothers and they all live abroad. We have spent a lot of our lives apart from each other, meeting maybe less than five times in the past couple decades because of the distance. This project has helped bring us together. We are all contributing in one way or another, and there have been challenges but we are all focused on achieving our goals together. It has been a great bonding experience. 

We make a great team. My two uncles own more traditional style businesses, such as restaurants and shops, whereas I have owned very futuristic, artificial intelligence and tech companies. We are learning a lot from each other; we complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses in a way that is allowing us to get this business up and running and moving towards success. 

1851: What advice do you have for other people thinking about becoming a franchise owner?

Kim: Reach out directly to the people who are handling the business. Reaching out to other franchise owners can give you mixed results. With Paris Baguette, dealing with the corporate team has been a very frictionless experience and I’ve found out everything I needed to know.

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 150 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/.