So it turns out the rumors were true. Several months ago, The Burn heard that Paris Baguette Bakery Café was negotiating for a spot in the Brambleton neighborhood of Ashburn — and today an announcement made it official.
Paris Baguette will be coming to the Bram Quarter development located at the corner of Loudoun County Parkway and Evergreen Mills Road.
“Cue the French music,” the Birchwood at Brambleton HOA announced today. “A Parisian café is making its way to Bram Quarter! We’re excited to announce that Paris Baguette has just signed their lease.”
It will be the first restaurant tenant in a center which has garnered a lot of interest since major construction on it finished last year.
The Burn first told readers about Bram Quarter way back in July 2020. Since then, the first of several proposed buildings has been built. But other than some real estate offices, most of the first floor retail spaces have sat empty for months.
We’ve had a steady drumbeat of emails here at The Burn HQ for area residents wondering what tenants would be coming to the center.
Meanwhile, last October we reported that franchisees for the Paris Baguette brand were actively seeking Loudoun County locations — and we quickly heard that Bram Quarter was a prospective site.
But that wasn’t on the record anywhere and since we don’t (usually) report rumors, we stayed mum waiting for something official. That came today with the announcement from Birchwood.
The HOA also shared that Paris Baguette has entered into a new agreement with Lavazza coffee and will be “offering an authentic Italian coffee experience.”
As we’ve been reporting, Paris Baguette is an international fast-casual chain serving French-style sandwiches, fresh baked bread, and pastries and desserts.
There are more than a hundred locations in the United States and thousands overseas. This number includes several here in Northern Virginia. The closest current one is in Centreville.
However, in February, we reported on plans to open a Paris Baguette in Herndon.
Despite the name, the brand was actually founded in Seoul and has a significant following among many Korean-Americans due to it having a big presence in South Korea.
The menu at Paris Baguette features gourmet sandwiches such as the Caprese Baguette, a Ham, Egg & Swiss Croissant, and a Turkey Mozzarella Panino.
There are also salads, breads, cakes and a line-up of pastries and sweets. You can check out the full Paris Baguette menu here.
Going forward, the hope will be that Paris Baguette will grease the wheels for other tenants to sign on. It sometimes just takes one to open the floodgates.
No word yet on when the new Brambleton store will open. The deal was just finalized, so stay tuned for more details.
(A special thank you to Dvora and Greg Sheremeta for the news tip on the deal for Paris Baguette being finalized.)