A growing number of Americans may be turning to drugs like Ozempic to change their diets, but they’re not giving up their croissants.
Across the U.S., bakery chains are booming.
From the global giants, like Korea-based Paris Baguette, to smaller upstarts that have just launched franchising, like The French Workshop, there appears to be a bonanza of concepts touting artisan pastries, bread, cakes and sandwiches.
It’s a niche that dabbles in multiple dayparts, crossing from breakfast into lunch, with afternoon snack, catering and gifting opportunities. These growing concepts also have robust beverage programs.
The New York Times in December declared a Golden Age of American Bakeries, detailing the growing number of independently operated concepts that grew out of the pandemic, with drool-inspiring Instagram feeds and creative twists on familiar classics.
The movement has been driven in part by favorable economics: bakeries can generally be run with fewer workers in smaller spaces, with no need for dinnerware.
But chain operators are also seeing the same economic benefits, in some cases using scale and a commissary models to reduce both costs and complexity.
To some degree, fast-casual bakery-café concepts are relinquishing some market share, shifting away from the bakery side to focus more on higher-ticket meals.
Fast-casual bakery-café leader Panera Bread, for example, last year overhauled its menu to focus on core categories of soup, salads, sandwiches and mac and cheese. The chain has been closing its fresh dough facilities across the country as it shifts to third-party bakers.
Others hope to step into that gap, with from-scratch concepts offering a more elevated croissant, muffin, bread or scone.
These are things most Americans are not likely to make at home, bakery proponents say. And, even in challenging economic times, consumers love their baked goods.
“It’s an affordable indulgence,” said John Maguire, CEO of the 17-unit Levain Bakery, based in New York City. “It’s a way to treat and reward yourself at a price that’s reasonable.”
Beyond cookies
The menu at Levain goes beyond cookies. | Photo courtesy of Levain Bakery.
Celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, Levain is one of the bakery chains that has accelerated growth during the recent bakery boom.
Cookies have become the star at Levain, but Maguire sees an opportunity to expand on the existing non-cookie options, including the brand’s pastries, hugely popular blueberry muffins, loaf cakes, breads and rolls.
“We really believe in cookies,” he said. “But there’s a lot of space in a couple of other areas.”
The chain is expanding its bread offerings, for example, as well as pastries, like savory scones or different uses of brioche dough, although not so much laminated pastries, like croissants and Danishes.
After all, it did start with bread.
Levain was co-founded in 1995 by Pam Weekes and Connie McDonald, best friends who started with a small bread shop on the Upper West Side of New York.
Later, they started baking cookies as a post-workout treat for athletes, and the hulking six-ounce treats developed a cult following, with flavors like caramel coconut chocolate chip or a vegan gluten-free chocolate chip walnut.
The chain was acquired in 2018 by private-equity firm Stripes, which also has invested in concepts like PopUp Bagels and the Erewon grocery chain. Since then, Levain has built a strong e-commerce business, shipping cookies across the country.
The chain uses a hybrid commissary model for the cookies, at least on the East Coast. The cookies are made from scratch in a Long Island commissary, which delivers shaped refrigerated (not frozen) cookies to units, where they are baked. The cookie dough is delivered every two to three days, and everything has a one-day shelf life, Maguire said.
However, the other baked goods, like the breads and brioche, for example, are made from scratch in each unit.
“We’re a working bakery, so people can walk in and see us making them,” he said.
This year, Levain launched catering for the first time, which Maguire sees as another potential revenue generator.
And then there’s beverages. Levain has a specialty coffee program, but Maguire plans to expand on drink offerings, which already represent more than 10% of sales.
In Los Angeles earlier this month, Levain opened its 17th unit, and all units are company owned. Maguire declined to disclose system sales, but said the average unit volume was “best in class.”
Growth has picked up since Maguire, who previously spent two decades with Panera Bread, joined Levain two years ago. Since then, the chain added six units. Another three are scheduled to open this year, and five in 2026.
“We believe there’s a tremendous growth opportunity,” he said. “We know there are a lot of urban markets, like New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and Boston, where we are, but there’s also real demand in some other types of real estate, like lifestyle centers,” said Maguire.
Croissant king
Somedays Bakery croissants are the star. | Photo courtesy of Somedays Bakery.
Another brand known for cookies is also branching out with pastries.
Chip City Cookies founder Peter Phillips has created a second concept called Somedays Bakery, which focuses on laminated dough, the sort traditionally used for croissants.
Chip City Cookies has 45 company-owned units in nine states, and is still growing. But after opening the first Somedays location in Queens, New York, last year, Phillips now plans to grow the pastry concept as a franchise brand.
Three franchise locations have either opened or are in the works, and Phillips expects to reach 10 locations by the end of the year.
These are from-scratch bakeries in each unit. But at Somedays, the focus is on one dough, basically a croissant dough, that can be presented in many creative ways, which significantly reduces complexity.
A top seller, for example, is a Pistachio Lattice croissant, filled with pistachio frangipane, raspberry jam and white chocolate. There might be savory options, like a lattice croissant filled with prosciutto and gruyere, or a passion fruit croissant pudding (almost like a French toast).
Units can be small. Phillips sees the sweet spot between 1,200- to 1,500-square feet. And, for operators, the 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. operating hours offer an attractive schedule that allows families to have dinner together at night.
French bakery franchising
The French Workshop evokes high-end French cafes. | Photo courtesy of The French Workshop.
Also out of the New York area is The French Workshop, a five-unit bakery on Long Island that announced its first franchise agreement last month.
Boasting an average unit volume of $5 million, The French Workshop is backed by Zorbas Group, which has been operating more than 80 bakeries in Cyprus since the 1970s. The company, for example, makes buns for McDonald’s on the island, said Graham Buckley, the chain’s vice president of franchising.
The French Workshop was founded in Bayside, New York, in 2015 in a partnership between the Zorbas and Pantelatos families. The concept is patterned after traditional French bakery cafes, with croissants, pastries and sandwiches and a premium coffee and tea program, the latter accounting for about 20% of sales.
Much of the baked products are shipped in frozen from Cypress and baked in units, though fresh ingredients like pastry creams are made in house, similar to the model used by chains like Paris Baguette or Tous les Jours, Buckley said.
“It’s not scratch baking. We’re not beating eggs with a whisk,” said Buckley. But the products are baked in house and that takes the complexity out of operations for potential franchisees.
For now, growth is planned in and around the New York area, possibly moving down to Washington, D.C. and later Florida, where New York snowbirds would know the brand, he noted.
The first franchise unit is scheduled to open on Long Island later this year, or in early 2026. The franchisees include James Bonanno, co-founder of Upstream Hospitality Group with more than 20 restaurants, with partners Dave Johnson and Joe Walsh, who worked as a culinary supervisor for the New York Yankees.
East meets Europe in America
The signature "mou" bread at Bread Espresso &. | Photo courtesy of Bread Espresso &
There are a number of other bakery chains with roots outside the U.S. that have found fertile ground for growth here.
Paris Baguette, a franchise concept born in South Korea in 1988, for example, has more than 4,000 units globally. In the U.S. last year, the chain ended the year with 197 units, a more than 27% increase, with another 100 expected to open in 2025.
Revenues grew more than 30% to $462 million in 2024, according to data from Technomic on the Top 500 restaurant chains.
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 to support that expansion. It is scheduled to open in 2027.
The Asian-French Tous les Jours, which is owned by the Korean conglomerate CJ Foodville with nearly 1,800 units worldwide, saw similar growth last year, according to Technomic.
Tous les Jours ended the year with 150 units, a nearly 40% increase, with revenues up more than 27% to $220 million.
In Southern California, the new Bread Espresso &, which originated in Japan, is hoping to replicate that growth.
The bakery-café chain has 37 units in Japan and is owned by the publicly traded H.I.S. Co. Ltd., through the holding company H.I.S. Americas Inc. The first Bread Espresso & unit opened in Redondo Beach, California, in February, managed by Japan Hospitality LLC.
The concept is known for signature “mou” bread, a soft cube with a buttery taste and pillowy insides. General manager Takuma “Koza” Kozaiwa describes it as a sort of hybrid of brioche and milk bread, and it can play host to all manner of flavors, from chocolate to savory fillings.
Everything is baked on site, and the menu includes soups and sandwiches, and a premium assortment of coffees and teas.
The goal is to franchise, Kozaiwa said, but first the company wants to establish the model.
International flavors
Other concepts are bringing more international flavors to the mix.
The 17-unit Filipino bakery chain Valerio’s Tropical Bakeshop, which is known for the soft bread pan de sal, is reportedly expanding from the West Coast to New York.
In Miami, the 13-unit Italian bakery Rosetta has grown into New York, Atlanta and, soon, the Washington, D.C. area, with its selection of focaccia, and treats like bombolone, fruit tarts and the signature King Rosetta sandwich with fillings like prosciutto, arugula, Swiss cheese and cherry tomatoes.
Out of Los Angeles, the 13-unit Mexican bakery La Monarca, known for pan dulce, cookies and coffee, has expanded with a consumer packaged goods line in some Costco locations, including the powdered-sugar coated wedding cookies.
In an industry that loves to chase fads, bakery concepts can offer both variety and the familiar, said Buckley of The French Workshop.
“It’s just not something people get sick of,” he said.