Loyal Paris Baguette Customer Brian Yi Signs Franchise Agreement To Bring First Bakery Café to Minnesota

Brian Yi is a Minnesota resident, retail business owner and loyal Paris Baguette* customer. After visiting Paris Baguette throughout his childhood, he grew an affinity for the brand. Unfortunately, as much as he wished the brand would expand to Minnesota, it was not franchising in the state for many years.

More recently, when Yi was looking to expand his horizons beyond his current beauty supply store ownership, he saw an announcement: Paris Baguette was now offering franchises in all 50 states. After doing a bit of research, Yi inquired about the opportunity on the same day. Because the Paris Baguette model combines food with retail-adjacency, Yi felt it was an appealing combination of what he knew and an opportunity to grow.

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

Yi: Currently, I’m in the hair business, running a beauty supply store. That store isn’t a franchise, but when I started thinking about expanding my business profile, I was curious about other businesses and how they worked. 

Paris Baguette is similar to my current retail model because all of the pastries are out and people can grab and go. I was excited to open a business and expand my investments, but it’s also exciting to have the Paris Baguette name behind me.

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?

Yi: Before I became a franchisee, I thought franchising was a model where you handed over the investment and the franchisor opened your store. It’s more hands-on than I had thought. You’re not completely alone in opening the location, which is nice, but you also can’t be completely hands-off.

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

Yi: Originally, Paris Baguette wasn’t available for franchising in Minnesota. I grew up with Paris Baguette in Koreatowns, and whenever we would go, I would get to bring pastries back home with me. I already had knowledge of the brand, so when the opportunity to bring it to Minnesota came up, I jumped on it.

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

Yi: We are opening the first Paris Baguette in Minnesota, so I’m hoping people will like the concept. We’ll have to see how it plays out, but if things go well, we may grow to open two or three more stores in the future.

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

Yi: I’m excited to be bringing something new to Minnesota. There are not many freshly made pastry or bread shops in Minnesota, and most people end up getting those things from the grocery store. I grew to love Paris Baguette as a child, and I’m excited to bring the brand to my community.

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

Yi: Franchising requires a lot of man-hours. If you’re going into the food space, it’s very different from the general retail model, so you need to study the industry.

You also need to leverage whatever resources you have. Make sure you have cash ready, and try to be in the loop with local general contractors — build those relationships.

ABOUT PARIS BAGUETTE

Paris Baguette is a bakery café franchise with more than 4,000 units across the globe. The brand first started franchising in 2015 in the U.S. and has since established 122 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 customers and help customers share moments of joy with their friends and family by providing world-class cakes, pastries, coffees, breads and other French-inspired bakery café fare. For more information, please visit https://parisbaguette.com/franchising/