Signage is up in the shoppes of Stuy Town near 16th Street for an outpost of Paris Baguette.
The quickly expanding South Korea-based company has more than 3,000 corporate and franchised stores across multiple countries in Asia as well as in Europe. There are seven cafe locations currently in Manhattan.
No word on an opening date here for their cakes, pastries, sandwiches and coffee.
An the Globalization of NYC and the EV continues. So few people are aware of this when they eat or shop at these kind of businesses. Why travel for a change of scenery or to taste food from another culture, everything will be the same everywhere soon enough.
ReplyDeleteThat's how I carry my bread.
ReplyDeleteSeriously?....2016....THAT pic.....oh, designed by GUYS who used to work at the Post.....figures.
ReplyDeleteAnd in a related story, kindergarten starts today.
Oh, god, I love their place on 32nd St. If I'm feeling down, just a quick look at their bizarre stuff always cheers me up.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen the doughnut stuffed with potato salad recently, but their skewered hotdog-in-a-roll or their sweet-potato sponge cake will surely brighten up the neighborhood.
P.S. I don't necessarily recommend actually eating any of these thing.
Like she'd eat carbs.
ReplyDeleteI have to say their baguettes suck. Certainly not anything like the real thing. If you want a really great baguette "Breads Bakery" on E 16th just west of Union Sq. has got them + many other great items. I lived in Paris for several years so I do know what I'm talking about.
ReplyDeleteKorea is the new Japan.
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ReplyDeleteNothing says authentic Parisian cuisine like South Korea
Wow, she's cute. It makes me want to buy a baguette.
ReplyDeleteI have seen their stores but never gone in; am stunned to find out they're owned by Koreans. I know we're a melting pot, but this just seems weird, like a Norwegian-owned store selling kimchi.
ReplyDeleteIn the event anyone happens to be on the Upper West Side, check out a newish (opened in 2014 I think) but truly authentic bakery Georgia and Aliou's Tiny Treats Bakery on Amsterdam near 90th Street.
ReplyDeleteGreat chocolate cake, tarts, cookies and more.
Also small café - soups, quiche, sandwiches.
And they have a small shop in the new subway retail area at the Columbus Circle subway station.
This is a small business and deserves support, even from EV residents :)
(Worth noting that the owners are not people with a lot of money - not ex-bankers, no house in the Hamptons etc)
This might shock some provincial white people but Koreans have been obsessed with Europe and cafe culture for a long time now. There is a lot more to Korea than kimchi and cell phones. They are influenced by world cultures just like we are. Anyways step inside one of these stores and instantly you will see that nobody is trying to pass off anything as authentically French. It's a silly chain bakery. Nobody freaks out because Whole Foods sells baguettes. But a Korean company? Oh dear. Clutch the pearls.
ReplyDeleteMy understanding is that Paris Baguette is a franchise which has its roots in Korea.
ReplyDeleteIt is pretty clear that the product line includes chain-type "French" baked goods;Asian "interpretation" of French baked goods; and Asian pastries. (Personally don't think the stuff is tasty)
The names of some chains do not always make sense, for example the original Banana Republic sold unassuming, lightweight travel clothing and the name was a political poke. Now it sells upscale clothing and the name makes no sense at all.
Pret-a-Manger turns out to be a British chain - I thought it was a U.S. chain. Don't know if there are branches in France.
In any event the tsunami of chains is soul-crushing. And far-reaching civic/local political implications when chains control the neighborhood and city economy ....
Very scary.
The original Banana Republic founders sold out to the Gap, then went on to found the Republic of Tea- one of the first branded gourmet tea lines that started the US tea craze. Don't know who they sold that to.::
ReplyDeleteI remember there used to be an old time Italian deli on First Ave (10th St?) that sold out to a Korean. He was so in love with Italian food, he cured his own olives and carried a wider assortment of salumeri and cheeses than the original owner. That is a place I miss sorely.
ReplyDeleteParis Baguette is actually delicious. There is one by my work....and you have to have willpower to stay away.
ReplyDeleteI think the "Old time Italian Deli" you're remembering was DiBella Brothers on 13th St, who sold their business to a Korean couple named JaeSun and Soo. They apprenticed with the Brothers for over a year before taking over the business and continued a note perfect copy of their deli for almost another 25 years before they too retired. They had some of the best Italian delicacies I've ever eaten, and I've searched for years for another deli that made stuffed peppers as good and uniquely as theirs. I've not found them, not even on Arthur Avenue.
ReplyDeleteAt 1:37 PM, Anonymous said:
ReplyDeleteI have seen their stores but never gone in; am stunned to find out they're owned by Koreans. I know we're a melting pot, but this just seems weird, like a Norwegian-owned store selling kimchi.
Yeah, but they call it lutefisk.
Anon. 9.05, have you ever tried the stuffed peppers from Alleva Dairy, down on Grand Street in Little Italy? The store has been around since 1892 - they're the oldest latteria left in the US - and their stuffed peppers are fabulous (at least, so thinks this half-Sicilian).
ReplyDeleteI love the "Paris Baguette" owned by a South Korea based company...
ReplyDeleteIt sounds really authentic...and this poor girl with her baguettes sticking out of a shopping bag...never seen that in France or anywhere else !
Pathetic !
anonymous 7:26, Banana Republic started out selling safari clothes. Today, their clothes are much nicer, even if they're more expensive than The Gap.
ReplyDeleteShe looks way too pleased with that baguette.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the Banana Republic memories. I miss their old catalogs with drawings of safari clothes.
They missed a great opportunity here to make that a darker bread baguette.
ReplyDeleteRemember when Koreans owned all the delis? People would say "I'm going to run down to the Korean deli. Want anything?" Now people will say "I'm going to run down to the Korean baguette store. Want a baguette?"
ReplyDeleteDo they have any chains in Paris?????? As for the ad, am I supposed eat the bread or fuck it????
ReplyDeleteParis Baguette = Korean food shaped like French food.
ReplyDeleteI hope I won't have to have an expensive haircut before entering the shop.
ReplyDeleteParis Baguette is great. I have no problem with these guys, the bread and pastries are just like they are in Asia.
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