Pastries and cake: French-infused international bakery chain coming to Johnson County
Wichita-based IHOP franchisees are opening another Overland Park IHOP, as well as a first-to-market bakery and cafe inspired by French cuisine but based in South Korea.
IHOP and Paris Baguette will share a new freestanding building at 11111 W. 95th St., outside Oak Park Mall near 95th Street and Nieman Road, said Mike Issa, partner with Moe Touffaha. A September 2022 opening is scheduled.
The Paris Baguette chain specializes in pastries and cakes. But it also serves breads, sandwiches and salads, coffee and tea.
Menu items include cappuccino cakes, chocolate croissants, egg and bacon brioche sandwiches, grilled chicken Caesar salad, and seasonal beverages. It also offers catering.
According to trade publication Franchise Times, the company dates to 1942 and now has about 3,800 locations internationally. Sales in 2019 were $2.7 billion.
It set a goal of reaching 1,000 U.S. locations by 2030, and currently has about 100, mostly in the Northeast and California.
Issa and Touffaha approached Paris Baguette about four years ago, but the company wasn’t interested in expanding to Kansas or Missouri until earlier this year.
“We immediately bought the rights for Wichita and Kansas City,” Issa said. “Initially we got introduced to it in New York. We go to New York often. And it became a habit. Everything is made fresh daily. We love it.”
He’s a particular fan of the pastries and cakes, “sweet, but not too sweet.”
The partners own 11 IHOPs, including four in the Kansas City area: Blue Springs, Lansing, Merriam and Overland Park (8400 W. 151st St.).
Their first Paris Baguette is scheduled to open in early 2022 on Wichita’s east side.
Includes reporting by Denise Neil of The Wichita Eagle.