Paris Baguette Signs 6 New Locations in Manhattan
By Rebecca Baird-Remba May 20, 2019 3:55 pm
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Korean café chain Paris Baguette is expanding rapidly in New York City with six new outposts planned in Manhattan, Commercial Observer can first report.
Two locations signed earlier this year in Midtown and the Upper East Side will open in the next few weeks, according to Winick Realty Group, which is representing Paris Baguette.
The Seoul, Korea-based café-bakery brand has leased 3,552 square feet of ground floor and lower level space at Zar Group’s 1450 Broadway between West 40th and 41st Streets in Times Square. And it has also inked a deal for 4,000 square feet of ground floor and lower level space at 1270 Lexington Avenue between East 85th and East 86th Streets on the Upper East Side. The Times Square outpost will open on Wednesday, and the Upper East Side one will open in June.
Paris Baguette has changed its real estate strategy and is transitioning from a franchise model to direct, corporate-backed locations in New York City, Winick broker Lee Block told Commercial Observer at the International Council of Shopping Center’s RECon event. The new cafés will feel brighter and be better designed and more upscale, he said.
“People are going to walk in and go holy sh*t, this is much nicer than what I remember,” Block explained. “The new designs are much more inviting.” He added that the French-inspired brand is trying to lease in more prime locations, like corner spaces with lots of street frontage in Midtown and Midtown South.
Besides Times Square and the Upper East Side, the quick-serve salad, sandwich and pastry spot has leased ground floor storefronts in the Stewart Hotel at 371 Seventh Avenue between West 30th and West 31st Streets in Chelsea, 990 Avenue of the Americas between West 36th and West 37th Streets in Midtown South, 700 Avenue of the Americas between West 22nd and West 23rd Streets in the Flatiron District, and 888 Tenth Avenue between West 57th and West 58th Streets on the Far West Side. The new locations typically range from 2,000 to 3,000 square feet.
Block represented Paris Baguette along with his Winick colleagues Jeff and Danielle Winick in all six transactions.
The company, which is owned by South Korean conglomerate SPC Group, already has about 18 franchise cafés throughout Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens.
