​​The Popular French-Style Bakery Chain Taking Over America Isn't Actually French

Despite being a massive chain, Paris Baguette strives to feel like a neighborhood bakery and café that customers return to easily and often. While the brand makes French-style pastries, it might surprise you that the massive chain is actually from South Korea. 

As of November 2025, PR Newswire reports that Paris Baguette has almost 260 locations in North America, with over 4,000 locations worldwide. The chain has opened almost 70 new locations in the United States in 2025, and it has over 500 new locations in the works for the future. According to Nation's Restaurant News, Paris Baguette grew 25% in from 2021 to 2022 alone, and the South Korean bakery chain's footprint has only expanded from there. In early 2023, the brand's CEO told National Restaurant News that about 80% of Paris Baguette's offerings are pastries, cakes, and bread, and the brand has focused on prioritizing those key categories rather than continuing to expand its standard offerings. 

Some locations are standalone sites, while others are housed in grocery stores like H-Mart. The chain boasts 19 locations in Los Angeles County alone — six of them located in Koreatown, within a 10 block radius of each other. Similarly, there are 12 Paris Baguette locations in Manhattan. Proximity to its sister locations doesn't appear to be a deterrent for sales or expansion in two of the country's largest cities.

A unique aspect of Paris Baguette is that its locations are mostly self-serve. Similar to an old-school Mexican panadería, customers grab a tray and tongs upon entering and select their own pastries and breads to bring to the counter to pay. Many of the pastries are housed in larger displays behind small doors to stay fresh, and some are pre-packaged in plastic for easy transportation, like its pre-sliced loaves of Japanese-style milk bread. And yes, true to its name, Paris Baguette does sell baguettes. 

Paris Baguette locations do have seasonal items, but the standard menu for the bakery is quite vast. In addition to traditional French pastries like chausson au pommes and croissants, you'll find some more creative and Korean-influenced items, like a strawberry croissant and red bean buns. Not to be by outdone by the sweets, there is also a diverse selection of savory pastries, like mini garlic croissants, pepperoni pizzettas, and my personal favorite, pastry franks — hot dogs wrapped in buttery, flaky puff pastry, aka a fancy pig in a blanket.

Other than the self-serve items, the chain always has many options for whole cakes and single cake slices available. The bakery has a small section of soft cream cakes, one of its specialties, which has a lighter, whipped cream-like frosting rather than a thicker buttercream. Paris Baguette also offers a huge selection of tea and coffee-based beverages.