Le Pain Quotidien, a bakery restaurant, is now open in Westport inside the Fresh Market plaza, offering authentic European recipes.
Founded in 1990 by Alain Coumont, Le Pain Quotidien, which translates to “the daily bread,” has grown into an international chain with more than 210 bakeries across 19 countries. There are only two other locations in Connecticut: Greenwich and New Canaan, each with very mixed reviews. Several customers have praised both the food and welcoming atmosphere of the bakery as it’s intended to sustain a positive relationship with staff workers and customers.
“The food was great! The ambiance is nice. The service was a bit slow, though, when we visited in the afternoon. But I would definitely recommend it,” a review from the Greenwich location said.
However, numerous others have filed complaints about the high prices based upon the quality of food and the staff’s behavior.
“Charging $13 for a $1 waffle (individually wrapped found in most of the Whole Foods) with 1 strawberry and 3-4 blueberries, not ok,” a review from the New Canaan location said.
The Westport storefront was formerly home to the Little Beet. According to PR Newswire, in 2020, Convive Brands was established by CEO Jef Weber. The platform became the parent company and aimed to support Le Pain Quotidien, Little Beet and Little Beet Table to provide leadership for each company’s success. According to Restaurant Business, all three were previously under Aurify Brands, another parent company, whose co-founders, John Rigos and Andy Stern are now investors in Convive Brands.
“We bring the family together all year long through franchise newsletters, annual franchise conferences we call Tartine Connections, and an ongoing franchise advisory board,” Le Pain Quotidien’s website said. “Where partners exchange best practices and collaborate on annual brand development plans.”
According to Le Pain Quotidien’s website, Coumont’s journey as a chef began in Brussels as a young child, where every weekend he leaned over his aunt’s shoulders observing her knead dough. His grandparents had owned a bakery close to Liège in Belgium and his father was trained at a school in Namur, Belgium, where years later Coumont would attend. As an adult, Coumont hunted for the taste of home but was disappointed to not find anything comparable, which marked the beginning of Le Pain Quotidien.
“Passionate about quality, [Coumont] returned to his roots and opened a bakery where he could knead flour, salt, and water into the rustic loaves of his childhood,” Le Pain Quotidien’s website said. “The first Le Pain Quotidien opened on Rue Antoine Dansaert in Brussels, an avant-garde quarter of Belgian fashion in those days.”
Much like Granola Bar, Le Pain Quotidien offers a variety of breakfast and brunch-based foods, including breakfast bowls, tartines (open-faced sandwiches) pastries, desserts and a wide selection of beverages. The menu consists of a lot of unique foods that aren’t common for Westport bakeries. Some examples include sesame tahini cookies, strawberry matcha cookies and Gazpacho – a Spanish cold soup, garnished with mango, radish and cucumber.
“We […] have a lot of places, but [some] of them don’t really attract a lot of people in the morning. I think this might attract a little more with the variety,” Jack Baumbusch ’27 said.
Another student believed that an additional option would help divide the number of customers as other brunch spots in Westport tend to draw a lot of attention, creating long lines for customers, which makes it an unenjoyable experience.
“I feel like [this cafe will be popular in the Westport community] if the word gets out because Granola Bar is kind of hard to get into since […] the lines are really long, so having two places will spread out,” Zana Tarsi ’29 said.
