If you live in New York or Los Angeles and love to grab a coffee and snack on the go, you are probably no stranger to TOUS les JOURS, the café-style bakery known for its wide selection of freshly baked pastries, delicate cakes and beautiful fruit tarts. TOUS les JOURS (and its equally French-sounding rival, Paris Baguette) is actually from South Korea. The bakery café chain pioneers a unique concept known as French-Asian pastry and is enjoying a growing presence in the U.S.

French-Asian pastry is a distinct genre confined neither to France nor to Asia; it’s also more than “just a fusion of flavors,” said Tony Hunsoo Ahn, the CEO of TOUS les JOURS’s international business. The store sells classic French bakery items, traditional Korean-style pastries and everything in between. “Our menu features unique flavors and just the right amount of sweetness, which sets us apart in the American market,” Ahn told Observer.

Founded in Korea in 1997, TOUS les JOURS opened its first U.S. store in 2004 (Paris Baguette arrived a year later). Today, it operates more than 100 stores across the U.S. Encouraged by consistent profitability and a growing demand in recent years, the company has an ambitious goal to grow that number ten-fold by 2030. In September 2023, TOUS les JOURS announced plans to build its first U.S. production facility in Gainesville, Georgia to support that vision. The company also recently opened its first store in Canada, further expanding its reach in North America.

In December 2023, Observer interviewed Ahn about the TOUS les JOURS’s long journey of bringing Korea’s café culture to the U.S. and how it has moulded and reshaped America’s taste in coffee and pastry.

The following Q&A has been edited for........

© Observer