Greenwich Resident Bringing Popular Bakery Franchise To Fairfield County

STAMFORD, CT — Paris Baguette, the popular French/Korean fusion bakery café franchise with more than 4,000 locations around the globe, is planning on opening its first Connecticut outpost in Stamford.

The brand offers a variety of freshly baked pastries, warm bread, crafted coffees and signature cakes which are layered and decorated. Some bakeries also offer salads and sandwiches.

Franchisee and Greenwich resident, Tom Paek, said he's still in the process of securing a location, but he hopes to open within a year.

Paek, who is originally from Seoul, South Korea, owns a dry cleaning business in Old Greenwich. He's been a longtime customer of Paris Baguette, and would often drive to Queens, N.Y. to the closest storefront.

When the brand first came to the United States about 10 years ago, Paek inquired about franchising, but was told Paris Baguette was not expanding through local owners at the time.

About two years ago, he asked again and found out that the company was looking at Connecticut. He jumped at the opportunity.

"[Paris Baguette] has things you can't get at a typical bakery. It's kind of like my pride, because I'm introducing Korean culture to the community as well," Paek told Patch. "I wanted to bring that to my local area."

Offerings include a variety of sweet and savory croissants and donuts, and pastries with different fillings or toppings.

There are 16 signature cakes listed on the Paris Baguette menu.

Items include the chocolate strawberry cake, which has three layers of chocolate cake, whipped cream filling and strawberries. The cappuccino cake is a four-layer coffee cake with coffee buttercream filling.

The blueberry chiffon cake features three layers of blueberry chiffon, with whipped cream filling and blueberry glaze.

There are approximately 150 Paris Baguette locations across the U.S. at the moment.

Internationally, according to a Forbes article, there are 3,600 storefronts in Korea and 240 in China, but just two in Paris.

Forbes noted that Paris Baguette is owned by SPC Group, a South Korean-based company that manufactures food and bread products. The company has a goal of opening 1,000 units in the U.S. by 2030.

Chief Development Officer for Paris Baguette Mark Mele said Stamford was the right choice for expansion.

"We are thrilled to announce additional expansion to Connecticut There’s a tremendous amount of opportunity in the bakery café space," Mele said in a statement to Patch. "No other bakery café franchisors are doing what Paris Baguette is on the same scale. Our ability to stay true to our bakery café roots while embracing aggressive expansion has garnered attention, and that only serves to drive us forward."

Paek has over two decades of experience in retail.

He moved to the U.S. in 1990, and to Greenwich in 1999. In 2001, he helped his parents operate their dry cleaning business in Old Greenwich. He liked it so much, he decided to make it a career. Paek also owned a nail salon in town for several years, as well as a bagel place in New Jersey.

Paek plans on partnering with longtime friend and former employee of his, Ji Hoon Kim, on the Stamford Paris Baguette endeavor.

"I'm very excited," Paek said.

More details will be shared once a location is secured and an opening date is announced.