Local Businessman and Restaurant Owner Signs To Bring Paris Baguette to the Tampa Bay Area

Baccar Ennayal and his wife migrated to the U.S. in 2010, and began pursuing degrees and careers. However, having come from a French-colonized country with heavy French cultural influences, the duo quickly noted a lack of true, French-style baked goods in their area.

After finding success with an independently owned restaurant in the Tampa area, the pair began to look into franchising with Paris Baguette to bring its baked goods to their community. With a franchise agreement signed for one unit, Ennayal says he looks forward to growing to become the community’s go-to local baker.

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

Ennayal: My wife and I first migrated to the U.S. back in 2010. I was a student when we came, and I completed an MBA in Kansas City, Missouri. Once I graduated, I got a job offer from a large engineering firm in Tampa, so we moved. I worked there for about eight years, then opened a restaurant with my wife. I wasn’t quite ready to move into self-employment.

Since then, we got settled in Tampa, and I was hired at a large law firm. I worked there for about three years before we decided to take the restaurant on full-time. It supports us and our family. We’ve come a long way from migrating and working toward a master’s degree to working in big firms and, now, finally being independent.

When we first migrated here, I didn’t make enough. It was not even paycheck to paycheck; I was really relying on family to send me money to finish out each month. Everything I made, I put back into the restaurant. Ultimately, things worked out for us. When things settled down after COVID, we decided to go all-in with Paris Baguette.

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?

Ennayal: We did our due diligence. Prior to that process, we had a general understanding of how franchising works but knew we would need to find the details.

The big thing that I would advise people to do is to consider whether you have the right mindset. You have to be open and understanding. With your own business, you don’t have anyone overseeing the processes. You’re on your own. With franchising, that's different.

It’s a positive thing because, when you’re on your own, you tend to mess up. There’s no one to hold you accountable, and you stumble your way through things as you go.

With franchising, yes, you have to pay a franchise fee. But you have someone that will hold you accountable, oversee the quality and give you the ropes to guide you through the process.

Another thing to consider is that, when you go through the Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD), you need to understand it and read it very well. I highly recommend calling as many people as possible during that due diligence process.

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

Ennayal: The concept, food quality and expansion rate were all reasons that made us confident in Paris Baguette. And, in Florida, as of now, we don’t have a location. 

What stood out was that Paris Baguette tends to compete with everybody in the industry, but nobody competes with Paris Baguette; they have that niche.

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

Ennayal: Ultimately, we’re starting with the Wesley Chapel location, but our long-term plan is to expand into the Tampa Bay area and Central Florida. We want to be able to provide that local bakery experience where people come and choose whatever they want. We’ll be the local bakers.

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

Ennayal: My wife and I come from a French-colonized country, so there’s a lot of French culture. Down in Florida, as far as we know, there aren’t many bakeries that do things right, according to French standards.

When we went on a trip to New York, we were searching for pastries and cakes. We stumbled across Paris Baguette. It was a really nice experience, and we thought, “Why don’t we bring that concept here?” That’s when we started looking into franchising.

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

Ennayal: You have to do your due diligence, and you need to consider your mindset. I’m doing a franchise now and also own the independent restaurant, and it’s very different. In franchising, you have to be okay with being held accountable by someone.

ABOUT PARIS BAGUETTE: 

Paris Baguette is a bakery café franchise with more than 4,000 units across the globe. The brand first franchised in the U.S. in 2015 and has since established nearly 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 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 parisbaguette.com/franchising.