East Wichita Paris Baguette cafe is getting a west-side counterpart
Wichita’s first Paris Baguette cafe and bakery opened at 21st and Webb in November.
And the city’s response to it has been so positive that the franchisees now have committed to opening a second Paris Baguette in Wichita, this one on the west side of town.
Mike Issa (not the Scotch & Sirloin Mike Issa) say that he and his business partner Moe Touffaha have just closed on a vacant lot on the northeast corner 29th and Ridge Road where they will build a Paris Baguette cafe even larger than the one on the east side. The west side’s shop will be 3,500 square feet as opposed to 3,000 at 9780 E. 21st St.
The duo plans to build a small strip center big enough for the new Paris Baguette and for another retail space next door. They’ll either come up with a concept for that space or lease it out, Issa said.
They’re in the early stages of the project, though, and don’t expect to break ground for another five or six months. Issa said his best guess on an opening date for the west-side cafe would be June of 2024.
The empty lot they’ve purchased doesn’t have any businesses nearby it yet: In fact, the other three corners of the intersection are all residential. But it’s a busy intersection near a fast-growing part of town, and the partners predict it will do well for them.
“The traffic is unbelievable,” Issa said.
Paris Baguette, which started in South Korea in 1988, specializes in French-inspired cakes and pastries and also serves sandwiches and salads as well as a line of coffee and tea. Issa and Touffaha fell in love with the concept during their travels to New York City.
Issa said that many of the east-side store’s customers tell him they’ve driven there from the west side and that those residents are hungry for a Paris Baguette closer to them. The partners, who also have the rights to the Kansas City market and are about to open their first Paris Baguette near Oak Park Mall in Overland Park, say that their next focus will be adding five to seven more Paris Baguette cafes in Kansas City.
The west-side Paris Baguette will likely be Wichita’s last, though.
“Two is pretty good for Wichita,” Issa said. “We’ll have to see what the future brings. We don’t know. We might seek a third location someday.”
Issa and Touffaha also recently opened a Paris Baguette cafe in Birmingham, Michigan. Additionally, they own the Wichita IHOP restaurant that last fall moved from 3151 N. Rock Road to a new spot south of K-96 at 3505 N. Rock Road.
Since the move, Issa said, sales have increased. Customers seem to like that the dining room at the new IHOP has a more open feeling.
“It’s doing way better for us,” he said.
Paris Baguette menu
This story was originally published June 12, 2023 at 3:59 PM.
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