An American In Paris…Making Pancakes?

ENFIELD, CT – In the late 1970s, “Breakfast In America” was a number one hit album for the British rock group Supertramp. However, over the last 13 years, a Paris, France eatery by that same name has turned into an even bigger hit for a Connecticut native.

Craig Carlson, a 1982 graduate of Fermi High School in Enfield who served as editor-in-chief of the school newspaper, The Pulse, continued his media aspirations by attending USC Film School in Los Angeles. He then found work as a screenwriter and short filmmaker before landing a job working on a television show in Paris.

While in France, he realized he loved everything about “the City of Light,” with one exception – he missed the good old fashioned breakfasts in his homeland. That thought inspired him to develop the first American-style diner in Paris.

Carlson seemed an unlikely candidate to succeed in the dining industry. He had never worked in a restaurant and knew nothing about entrepreneurship. However, after two years of rounding up investors (including the director of the Gene Hackman-Dustin Hoffman film “Runaway Jury” and a director of the smash TV series “Friends”), the first Breakfast In America (B.I.A.) opened on Jan. 4, 2003, during one of the heaviest Paris snowfalls in recent history.

“The biggest challenge of all was finding the right diner ingredients,” Carlson said. “Items like peanut butter, maple syrup, cranberry juice, cheddar cheese, bagels. Luckily, one of our investors works at Disneyland Paris, and thanks to him, I found out there’s a company that ships huge containers of products over from America. So just like that, in one fell swoop, I found almost all the ingredients I needed for Breakfast In America.”

Blueberry pancakes with real maple syrup, omelettes and bagels are among the most popular menu itemsavailable all day long at B.I.A., as well as the “2x2x2” (two eggs, two bacon strips and two pancakes). Lunch and dinner favorites include burgers, chicken and vegetarian wraps and club sandwiches.

The restaurant's décor combines Carlson’s two passions – breakfast and cinema – as the walls between booths are adorned with photos of diner scenes from popular films, including “Pulp Fiction” and “When Harry Met Sally.”

A baker’s dozen years after launch, there are now three B.I.A. locations operating in the French capital.

Carlson has written a book chronicling his efforts to open the restaurant. Entitled “Pancakes in Paris: Living the American Dream in France,” the book is scheduled to be released Sept. 6, and will be available through Amazon.

In a promotional release, Amazon wrote, “His diner, Breakfast In America, is now a renowned tourist destination, and the story of how it came to be is just as delicious and satisfying as the classic breakfast that tops its menu.”

Publishers Weekly said in a review of the book, "[A] sweet and entertaining memoir details how a former Hollywood screenwriter opens an American diner in Paris and lives happily after...Carlson's narrative is an inspirational, tasty trip through one man's delightful and hard-won success."

Photos courtesy of Craig Carlson; video via YouTube