Even as the U.S. enjoys an independent bakery boom, chain concepts out of Asia are finding plenty of fertile ground for growth, including Paris Baguette and Tous les Jours, both originally from South Korea.
Now here comes another from Japan.
Bread Espresso & opened its first U.S. location in Redondo Beach, California, last month. The bakery-café chain has 37 locations in Japan, where it first opened in 2009, and there were once units in Hong Kong and other parts of Asia, but those closed during Covid.
The concept is owned by a publicly traded multibillion-dollar company H.I.S. Co. Ltd, through the holding company H.I.S. Americas Inc. H.I.S. has about 185 subsidiaries running hotel and restaurant concepts. The Bread Espresso in the U.S. is managed by subsidiary Japan Hospitality LLC, which also has the kaiseki restaurant Uka in Hollywood.
Bread Espresso, however, is the concept the company believes will have legs in the U.S., said Takuma “Koza” Kozaiwa, general manager.
“We want to expand in the U.S.,” said Kozaiwa. “But the first step is to create a success story of our own with the first location in Redondo Beach.”
But don’t look for croissants.
The 2,000-square foot café on the Pacific Coast Highway, overlooking the ocean, is not a traditional bakery, with laminated pastries.
Bread Espresso’s signature is its “mou” bread, a distinct soft cube with a buttery taste and pillowy inside. Kozaiwa describes it as a “hybrid of a brioche and milk bread,” (the latter another light and fluffy bread style popular in Japan).
The menu includes sweet and savory mou bread. | Photo courtesy of Danielle G. Adams.
Mou serves as host to all manner of variation, like chocolate, cranberry, walnut and matcha whip. A signature dish is the French toast mou, served in a mini cast-iron skillet with a crisp outside.
The mou are made with a special Japanese flour that creates the unique texture, though he couldn’t reveal the proprietary brand, Kozaiwa said. All baked goods will be made on site.
There’s also an extensive savory side, with options like lobster bisque, croque monsieur/madame, or paninis. The café has a full coffee bar and assortment of teas and specialty mocktails.
Kozaiwa said the 32-seat café is expecting to do a brisk takeout business. Delivery hasn’t been turned on yet, but that’s coming.
The menu at Bread Espresso. | Photo courtesy of Danielle G. Adams
The goal is to grow through franchising, he said, but the company hasn’t yet filed their franchise documentation. First, they want to establish the model that they feel can be replicated.
There is already significant competition from other global operators.
Paris Baguette, born in South Korea in 1988, is a franchise concept with more than 4,000 units globally, including about 200 across North America. Last year, the chain added nearly one café each week, and the goal is to reach 1,000 in North America by 2030. The company recently broke ground on a manufacturing plant in Texas, scheduled to open in 2027, to support that expansion.
Tous les Jours, meanwhile, is owned by the Korean conglomerate CJ Foodville, and has 138 units in the U.S. and 1,794 worldwide.
Bread Espresso in Redondo Beach, California, is on the oceanside Pacific Coast Highway. | Photo courtesy of Danielle G. Adams.
But seeing the growth of those brands is in part why Kozaiwa believes Bread Espresso will be a good fit in the U.S.
“We’re a brand that focuses on adding joy and excitement to everyday products,” said Kozaiwa. “We’re not looking at three, five or 10 [units], but 30 to 100 within five years.”
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