Beloved international bakery and cafe is finally opening in Johnson County
The Kansas City metro has been waiting to taste Paris Baguette’s pastries for nearly four years.
On Tuesday, the international bakery and coffee shop will finally open its first spot in the Kansas City area. The space is at 11137 W. 95th St. in Overland Park, near Oak Park Mall, and shares a building with breakfast restaurant IHOP.
It’s an exciting time for Mike Issa, especially. He’s the franchise owner who’s giving Kansas Citians their first taste of Paris Baguette.
“We are very excited,” Issa said. “We are very, very happy to be in Overland Park … my excitement today is double. We are part of the community, and we want to give back to the community.”
A mural of downtown Overland Park is spread on one side of the restaurant’s back wall.
The South Korean chain sells drinks, pastries, breakfast sandwiches and lunch items.
All of its breads, cakes and pastries are made in-house daily, Issa said. The restaurant always carries a minimum of 25 types of pastries (not including the salads, sandwiches and cakes).
Some menu stars are: “crookies” (half-croissant, half-cookie), tiramisu tarts, croissant doughnuts, barbecue chicken grilled cheese sandwiches and sourdough turkey melts.
And then there’s the specialty cakes. Soufflé cheesecake, blueberry chiffon, ganache cream, strawberry pistachio.
To drink, the chain offers coffee drinks like iced pistachio lattes or vanilla sweet cream cold brew. Matcha and smoothies are also on the menu.
One of its seasonal specialties is the iced pistachio Dubai chocolate matcha latte.
Urusa Khan, a trainer with Paris Baguette, said customers can anticipate seasonal drops to take place every two to three months.
“You wouldn’t go to any other place and find this variety,” she said.
In the space, customers will line up with trays and tongs, moving through the line of pastries to the grab and go cooler of sandwiches and salads.
Once they get to the front counter, they can order cake slices and drinks.
This won’t be Paris Baguette’s only spot in the metro. This year, it’ll open another Overland Park space at 15895 Metcalf Ave.
An exact opening date was not readily available for that location, which is operated by another franchisee.
At one point, Issa had said he would open several more in the Kansas City area. While he still plans to, he said he’s had to put those negotiations on hold so he can focus on future locations in other states.
Issa opened a Paris Baguette in Wichita in November 2022, which he said has been a success.
“We have been very busy every day,” he said. “It’s been amazing.”
The Overland Park spot’s hours will be 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
Meanwhile, Kansas City has seen a couple of international chains enter the metro in the past few weeks.
Taiwanese 85°C Bakery Cafe opened last week at 12061 Metcalf Ave. in Overland Park, similarly selling specialty pastries, cakes and coffee drinks. It was first announced earlier this year.
Japanese discount store Daiso recently made its entrance in Olathe at 14673 W. 119th St., selling home goods, beauty products and more.