Paris Baguette — Restaurant in Raleigh

Initial post - 9/25/2023: I know the chain in California and love their products, which are surprisingly good and not too expensive. With our French friends in the neighborhood, we’ve been anxiously waiting for the opening, as this type of cafe bakery is badly missing here. So, a 5 rating is what I would love to give them. But my experience this morning at 10:00AM was a disaster: The waiting line in front of the store reminded me of an Apple Store the day a new iPhone is made available, the staff is totally overwhelmed and can’t check out customers fast enough: It would have taken me 45 minutes to go through. But the big turn off was the fact that half of the shelves were empty! The big issue to me are the opening hours (10 to 6) which are plain stupid IMHO. This type of place should thrive in the morning hours, as this is when you want to enjoy a fresh-baked croissant with your coffee. I understand that they can’t afford more than an 8-hour shift at this time due to labor shortages. But then make it 7 to 3 or 8 to 4 please! This would spread out the morning crowds for the enjoyment of everybody.

Update 12/3/2024: After almost 15 months of operation, I believe it is fair to update this review (I gave only one star at that time). This business obviously struggled with high demand and short staff initially (like most highly anticipated store), but things got back to normal in the following weeks. No more interminable wait times, which is great. The 2 opportunities for improvement left are: Product availability: It might be due to the huge variety of options, but there always seem to be 20% of the selections which are unavailable at any given time, so it always feels like a hit or miss when you come for a special item. The lack of privacy with the adjacent grocery store: I know it is run by the same company but having the smell of fish while eating a pastry is really not a great match. I wouldn't be sitting inside for this reason. Please build a wall...

TLDR: bought 6 tarts for $24 and asked for a box. Staff refused and stacked them and put them in a small plastic bag.

I’m visiting Raleigh and my friend suggested that we can get my birthday cake at Paris Bauette. She said her first experience here was not good because she was accused of not paying for three slices of cake. Eventually they check the record, and I figured she had already paid.

We decided to return because she said the goods were delicious so we gave it a second chance as a thank you for a friend. I bought six tarts, and I paid at the cashier. The lady serving me was a larger lady with glasses and she packed my tarts stacked. I looked at her horrified and asked her for a box instead, and she said no, they did not provide boxes for chart only pastries, and donuts. Then she proceeded to flip the tart instead and I looked at her with more horror she ignored, and gave me the bag of tarts.

Look at the back of shorts now there is powder everywhere. The chart is broken there needs to be more training on how old is pastries are packed because these tarts were not cheap. I expected her to pack them in boxes, and now I have a bag of broken and tarnished tart to go to my friend.

I think even if the products are delicious, there needs to be more training with how the products of our package as well as the service in the case...

The customer service here is kinda bad. The day i went in all the cashiers seemed to either be older teens or young adult which would be fine if they were nicer, i was checking out with my pastries when one of them asked where the tongs i used were and i said i put them back. I was unaware that they were supposed to be brought up with the tray and when i turned back to retrieve them they were unfortunately gone, when i turned back to the cashier he cringed his face and we were both kinda at a loss because nothing else could really be done. I wouldve prefer if he hadnt made a face due to the fact that i have anxiety but past is past, that interaction asside the workers weren't that friendly and they didnt really smile or make small talk or ask if i found everything alright. The pastries themselves were okay at best, the hotdog pastry i got was cold and the actual meat tasted chunky and had clumps of cold fat in it and the nut covered cheesecake like pastry i got wasnt really worth the money i paid. i did get a slice of mocha cake which was nice though! Overall i wouldnt comeback here unless it was to give this place a 2nd chance or buy someone a cake. 3/10, Please make a giant sign near the entrance that says what to do or make the instructions...