A Q&A with Mark Mele, Chief Development Officer for Paris Baguette

Mark Mele joined the global bakery café concept Paris Baguette as Chief Development Officer in 2020 to further its franchise development efforts. Using a combination of support for franchisees, new store prototypes and a mission to bring back the neighborhood bakery café, Paris Baguette is poised for growth to meet its goal of opening 1,000 units by the year 2030.

1851 Franchise: What is Paris Baguette doing well right now? 

Mark Mele: There are three things we’re doing well right now.

One thing we are doing really well right now is following up with prospective franchisees. We’re especially good at it, actually. We’re following up with them and properly vetting all prospective franchisees in our pipeline to ensure that they’re not only a good fit for us, but to make sure we are a good fit for them. We’re doing the due diligence to pre-qualify candidates and determine whether a partnership with a franchisee makes sense. 

Another thing we are excelling at right now is offering support to new franchisees. Once the franchise agreement is executed, we’re supporting new franchisees with a new store development manager. This position is key from a support angle. From the day the franchise agreement is signed to the day of a new location’s opening, the new store development manager is spending a great deal of time with franchisees to make sure everything is running smoothly and that the franchisee and their team is set up for success. 

The third thing we are doing well right now is working through the real estate process and construction process. We want to make sure that our new stores are in a flagship-type location. Meaning, we want new stores to be in a lifestyle center that has heavy retail, grocery stores and is populated with foot traffic and pedestrians. As far as construction, we’ve really changed our approach from an architectural standpoint. We’re building a 3.0 prototype that we are working on now. All of our new stores are being developed with the new prototype and we’ve established a list of preferred vendors including architects, general contractors and project management companies, all of which oversee new construction for Paris Baguette.

1851: What would you say stands out as differentiators for the brand?

Mele: Part of what makes Paris Baguette stand out as a brand is that we’re one of the few bakery café brands left in the industry. If you’re looking for a bakery in your town, and think “I want to be a franchisee because I trust the franchise models,” there aren’t many choices on what you can open. A lot of brands that were bakeries over the years have sort of strayed from that path, and whereas we’re staying true to being strictly a bakery. Our roots are deep in being a baking company, and we’re really good at it. We’re also good at operating a bakery café, and we’re especially good at franchising. It’s appealing to prospects that want support from a franchise system as well as a great bakery café. 

1851: Looking to the future of Paris Baguette, what are your growth goals for 2022?

Mele: In the coming year we have set a goal to sign 150 franchise agreements and open 56 units. Overall, we have a 10-year goal to open 1,000 units in the U.S. We’re targeting several markets across the country, including 24 states while expanding upon current developments in 4 U.S. states.

1851: What is your vision that you want Paris Baguette to fulfill?

Mele: We want the brand to reestablish the neighborhood bakery café in every community. There’s so much joy to be had in having the opportunity to visit a neighborhood bakery café that offers expertly crafted baked and brewed goods to guests. We want our guests to be able to understand our values and the idea that our brand is really about spreading joy. 

1851: What were some learning opportunities found during the pandemic that the brand has since leveraged to get where it is now?

Mele: The pandemic taught us a lot of things. We were so focused on what to do the right way, and by the guidelines, but at the end of the day, it was all about the guests. Think about it, you’re in a retail restaurant and you’re serving fresh baked goods to people who are all taking in different information. These customers are walking into our bakery cafés, and no matter how they personally feel about the pandemic, you want to present food in a way that makes them feel comfortable. 

The pandemic helped us to better present our fresh baked goods to our guests. We also got better at how we should package our products in a way that allowed customers to continue perceiving our services as a source of joy. Customers were coming in during the pandemic because they craved our fresh baked products, so we had to make sure the service and delivery was right, and that it was presented the right way so that we could continue to impress our guests.

1851: What were the influencing factors that encouraged you to join the Paris Baguette team?

Mele: There were three reasons why I chose to join Paris Baguette. The first reason was that I felt like the position of the company was aligned with my experience. What they needed was what I could provide them with.

Second, the brand’s dedicated to high-quality attracted me. 

Third, the development mission of Paris Baguette was a big factor. They set a goal to open 1,000 bakery cafés in 10 years, and that was a mission I could buy into, for my future, and the future of the brand.

1851: What does the ideal franchisee look like for Paris Baguette in 2022? 

Mele: The ideal franchisee candidate for Paris Baguette in 2022 looks like someone who is passionate about the Paris Baguette brand, and could get excited about serving people in their own establishment. We want to work with someone who is going to take the time to learn our process and model and be caring with their staff everyday so that the staff understands the most important person is the guest and how the guest perceives us when they come in to visit us. 

Our team is looking for someone who is a people person, a high-quality individual who has a business skill set and the financial wherewithal to invest in the business and to keep it afloat in good times and in bad times. We also look for candidates who have a prior business background with success in operating a successful business in the past. We prefer someone who has restaurant or bakery experience, but if not exactly that then we like a business background that is similar. 

As far as a franchisee’s approach to being a hands-on owner, we definitely want people who are active in their business. While they can hire a general manager to be running the bakery café, especially if they own multiple units, we want them to be able to visit their locations and be involved every day. The most important step in being a franchisee is being engaged in the business. You want the proper general manager running things while you’re still engaged and have your finger on the pulse of the business.

1851: Can you share the ways Paris Baguette supports franchisees that people may not know of?

Mele: We have regular, scheduled visits to cafés for quality control. These audits help us ensure that guests are perceiving us the way we want and that our mission of bringing joy back to the community through a neighborhood bakery café is being met. Additionally, we offer regular training inside the bakery cafés as well as outside the bakery cafés at our HQ, or a regional Paris Baguette facility. We also have annual business meetings to support our franchisees. We have a franchise advisory council that is there to support our franchisees. Lastly, local and regional marketing funds are provided to help franchisees share the concept with potential customers.

The total investment to franchise with Paris Baguette ranges from $528,270 and $1,638,554, including a $50,000 franchise fee. For more information, please visit: https://parisbaguette.com/franchising/