Food & Drink

First Paris Baguette in Washington set to open in 2023

The quick-service restaurant is coming the the Pacific Northwest

By Rob Smith December 7, 2022

Cake_BlueberryChiffon_Whole copy Cropped-min

This article originally appeared in the September/October 2022 issue of Seattle Magazine.

Washington state’s first Paris Baguette quick-service restaurant is set to open in early 2023, courtesy of a local businessman and restaurateur hoping to recapture some of his past.

Paul Liu, who immigrated to the Seattle area with his family from South Korea when he was 10, developed a fondness for the internationally recognized neighborhood bakery-café on frequent trips back to the country. When he learned that Paris Baguette was looking to enter the Washington market, he jumped at the chance.

“Every time my family visits Korea, you can’t walk five blocks without seeing a Paris Baguette location, and we all have developed a fondness for its pastries and cakes,” says Liu, noting that the bakery was founded in South Korea. “There’s a location close to my in-laws, and when we visit, we’re there multiple times a week. The taste and smell brings back memories.”

Liu, who grew up working in his family’s restaurant business and has operated several restaurants himself, plans to open more Paris Baguette locations on the Eastside, adding that the market here “has a very high demand for Asian-inspired pastries and cakes.”

Paris Baguette has more than 100 locations across the U.S., but Liu’s franchise is only the second in the Pacific Northwest.

Follow Us

A Delicious Start to Women Making History Month 

A Delicious Start to Women Making History Month 

Start by supporting these women-owned restaurants, wineries, and breweries

Join us in raising a glass to some of the women chefs, winemakers, brewers, and business owners who make Seattle and Washington’s culinary and imbibe scene so dynamic.   

A Slice Above the Rest

A Slice Above the Rest

With grace and grit, Niles Peacock has worked his way to the top of the pizza world

“This has to be a joke.” That’s the first thing that passed through Niles Peacock’s head as he stood reading the results of the 2022 International Pizza Challenge in Las Vegas... Photo by Steve Parent Photography

Edible Art

Edible Art

Check out these elegant practitioners of pastry just in time for Valentine's Day

Whether you like Valentine’s Day because you enjoy celebrating all the ways love exists in your life, or you want an excuse to eat delicious dessert with your girlfriends for Galentine’s, plenty of Seattle pastry shops and chocolatiers will keep you well fed.

Doing Doughnuts

Doing Doughnuts

Doughnuts are again having a moment. Check out these Seattle favorites.

Let’s start with a Seattle staple. I love Pike Place Market, and also love going with my son as often as possible to get a piroshky and then a doughnut from the Daily Dozen. It’s a small booth inside the market across from DeLaurenti Food and Wine. You’ll have to stand in line, but It