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The basics:

• Paris Baguette targets 1,000 U.S. locations by 2030
• Expansion plans supported by 260,000-sq-ft Texas bakery to open by 2027
• Recorded 17 straight quarters of sales growth
• Smart growth focuses on perfected café designs, streamlined operations, sustainable supply chain

Paris Baguette is just getting warmed up. Thanks to strong sales, rapid expansion and continued strategic investments, executives at the French-inspired bakery café concept believe they have the recipe needed to reach their goal of 1,000 U.S. cafés and 100 Canadian locations by 2030.

Known for a wide variety of freshly baked pastries, cakes and breads, Paris Baguette has grown to 4,000 units worldwide since its founding four decades ago in South Korea. After debuting in the U.S. 20 years back, the fast-casual brand rolled out franchising 10 years later. It now has nearly 230 outposts nationwide.

To scale in a smart way, the Moonachie-headquartered company says it is focusing on quality, connection and customer experience by perfecting café designs, streamlining operations and building a supply chain that supports future growth goals.

Within the past year, momentum has picked up significantly. Paris Baguette expanded its U.S. store count by about 27% to close out 2024 with 200 sites. It also awarded 163 new franchises and opened 51 new stores.

After ending the first quarter of 2025 with 76 new franchise signings (a 200% year-over-year jump), 20 lease signings (a 33% increase from last year) and 15 new cafés opened, the brand expects to launch 100-plus locations by December. Among the new markets Paris Baguette is targeting are Connecticut, Missouri, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Indiana, Idaho, Delaware and Puerto Rico.

Alongside new development, the chain continues to post solid performance from its existing cafés. Paris Baguette reported U.S. sales rose by over 30% to reach nearly a half billion dollars last year; and it enrolled more than 1 million members in its recently revamped rewards program.

Growth and innovation

The first quarter of 2025 marked Paris Baguette’s 17th consecutive period of positive comp sales and 16th consecutive quarter of positive comp traffic, metrics that CEO Darren Tipton believe “serve as a testament to the loyalty of our guests and continued growth of our brand.”

“The unprecedented growth and steady innovation we’ve seen across the system is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our team and franchisees,” said the chief executive officer. Tipton was promoted in January 2020 from chief operating officer to CEO of the SPC Group-owned subsidiary’s U.S. operations.

“As we continue building on this momentum, we’re focused on elevating every aspect of the brand experience – from product quality and guest engagement to franchisee support and operational excellence – to ensure Paris Baguette remains the premier neighborhood bakery café across North America,” he said.

To support its expansion plans, Paris Baguette recently revealed plans to build a state-of-the-art bakery manufacturing plant just outside of Fort Worth, Texas.

Set to break ground this summer, the 260,000-square-foot facility will open by 2027. It will mark the franchise’s first production site in North America and create 450 area jobs, according to the company. For the project, Paris Baguette will invest $160 million, while local and state authorities have pledged $14 million.

Tipton has said the manufacturing location will not only reinforce the company’s supply chain but also ensure it “can continue offering the best in class, high-quality baked goods to our growing base of loyal guests.”

Branching out

Paris Baguette Chief Development Officer Nick Scaccio said he believes the continuing success is driven by the chain’s commitment to quality products and its welcoming in-café atmosphere.

“Operationally, Q1 has been incredibly successful for Paris Baguette. The significant increase in new café openings reflects our team’s ability to execute our expansion plans efficiently. From system expansion and facility investments to ongoing innovations that benefit the guests more directly, we’re seeing wide-reaching benefits from all strategic initiatives,” he said.

When Scaccio joined Paris Baguette in February 2020, it had fewer than 75 stores in the U.S. — the majority company-owned locations.

“From 2020 forward, we really leaned into the franchise model and that’s when growth really exploded for us – during that shift and post-COVID in most major markets. The expansion to new markets has really come over the past year,” he said.

While the company started out with a lot of single-unit franchisees, it is now signing four units or more at a time. According to Restaurant Dive, roughly 70% to 80% of Paris Baguette’s franchisees are multiunit operators.

“That’s a huge factor for us – several of our franchise owners have branched out from their initial cities and even initial states,” Scaccio said, adding, “They’re continuing to explore new markets and really spread joy in new cities and states across the country. It’s going to be an incredibly exciting time over the next few years for Paris Baguette.”

When it comes to how the chain determines target markets, Scaccio said, “There are so many different factors that help us guide our development in our growth strategy. One is existing markets where we’re performing well, and some of those have been California — both Southern California and Northern California.

“We have [more than 400] locations that are signed that are at some point in the development process … New York and Texas have been areas where we opened and continue to perform, and there’s a lot more coming in each of those markets amongst many others.”

Paris Baguette opened its first New Jersey café eight years ago in Fort Lee. Now, with 25 units across the state, Scaccio describes N.J. as a “phenomenal market” for the company and said he expects another 40 or so locations here.

‘Heart of the community’

As part of its ramp-up for major expansion in the U.S. and Canada, Paris Baguette reset its position in North America. As part of January 2022 rebrand, the chain unveiled a new community-driven store layout designed to elevate guest experience and encourage customer engagement. In addition to sleek, modern interiors and a central display island filled with fresh baked goodies, locations feature windows where guests can look in and see bakers and “cakers” hard at work.

The revamp also included the addition of unique murals in each café that highlight the connection to the local community, as well the introduction of a chainwide outreach initiative. “Love Baked In” encourages franchisees to get involved in giving back to their neighborhoods.

With all breads, pastries and cakes made fresh onsite each day, locations must maintain a high level of execution. Scaccio said that makes training and team retention a top priority,

“And that comes with rigor from our field teams. We have support teams in the field that focus on quality assurance, food quality; and we’re in the cafes very frequently to make sure that the quality of the bakery items, the cakes, the coffee, the sandwiches and the salads, are all being produced across every café at an extremely high level and that the guest experience is being executed at a high level in every café.

“It’s so important to us,” he said.

For instance, if a café runs out of items, operators are trained to review production and history to better predict what to stock. The process ensures stores have enough product for a guest who walks in at 6 a.m. or one who arrives at 7 p.m., Scaccio said.

Products that don’t sell by the end of the business day are donated to food banks through a partnership with Feeding America “to help mitigate any concerns regarding waste and leftover product,” he said.

As for the biggest challenges of sustainable growth, Scaccio said, “Most of our efforts revolve around focusing on our mission, vision and brand values.”

Paris Baguette noted that its brand values are to spread joy, have heart, nourish the community and rise to the occasion.

“It’s just so important to our entire team and organization at Paris Baguette because we really believe in being high touch and providing incredible support to our franchise owners, both existing and new,” Scaccio added.

“Our focus is around how do we continue to provide the same support for our franchise owners as we grow and as we scale? And as growth continues to expedite, growth continues to be exponential over time. Our intent is to provide that same level of high touch support as needed for our franchise owners to make sure that they’re as successful and more successful over time,” he said.

Instagram-worthy bites

Menu innovation has also been a priority, Scaccio said.

“The last few years, our marketing and R&D team has done a phenomenal job of really leaning into unbelievable flavors, textures and visuals,” he said. Scaccio noted strategic partnerships with brands like Parsippany-based Ferrero North America’s Nutella hazelnut spread and popular Italian coffee brand Lavazza. “It’s been a world of difference in terms of the product line from our cakes to our pastries … it’s been a tremendous undertaking that they’ve led, and I think the results have really shown.

“We’re always considering what our guests’ desires are and what their purchase habits are, which winds up impacting our core menu and our offering,” he said. “We focus on the indulgent and there’s still a growing market for that as we’ve seen over 17 straight quarters of positive comp sales and over 16-straight quarters of positive comp guest count.”

“There are staples on our menu, from our strawberry soft cream cake to our croissant to our brewed coffee. But then we innovate off our staples where you’ll see items such as a chocolate hazelnut cake with Nutella to our milk and cereal mochi donut, which are new, innovative, eclectic and really Instagramable when you look at them in our beautiful island showcases,” Scaccio said.

Scaccio said, “Darren Tipton, our CEO for the past five years, really leads the way with his vision and that’s to reestablish a neighborhood bakery café as the heart of the community. Our intention is to really create that warm and welcoming feeling in every Paris Baguette café around the U.S. and Canada.”

He also believes that’s one of the main reasons the brand is resonating with customers and keeping them coming back for more.

“Our most successful owners are deeply invested in their communities and really are a part of the community. And the more we can do that in every market, the more successful our owners will be and the greater brand strength we’ll have,” he said.

Editor’s note: This story was updated at 3:33 p.m. EST June 23, 2025, to correct and clarify a few points in Chief Development Officer Nick Scaccio’s quotes, including the number of locations in development as well as the brand’s core values.