Freehold has a new bakery cafe on West Main Street. Paris Baguette has opened at 280 West Main Street, Unit 105, run by franchise owners Ami and David Shah, and the couple marked it with a grand opening celebration on Friday, November 13. According to the company, the Freehold cafe is its 33rd in New Jersey.

What is on the counter

The Freehold shop carries the company's standard range: artisan pastries, breads, cakes, custom cakes ordered ahead for birthdays and other occasions, and coffee and handcrafted drinks. It works as a morning coffee stop, a place to sit with a friend, or a place to pick up a cake on the way to a party, which is how the owners describe the role they want it to play on West Main Street.

At the November 13 grand opening, the owners gave a free pastry and a free brewed coffee with any purchase between 2 and 4 p.m.

Who runs it

Ami and David Shah live in Monroe and have been Paris Baguette customers for more than 15 years, the company says, going back to visits to its Edison cafe while Ami was pregnant with their son. Both left careers in information technology and engineering to go into the business. Freehold is their second Paris Baguette.

The chain in Monmouth County

Paris Baguette operates more than 4,000 locations worldwide and more than 300 bakery cafes in North America. The company says it plans to reach 1,000 cafes in the U.S. and Canada by 2030, growing mainly through local franchise owners like the Shahs, and that its stated aim is to bring back the neighborhood bakery cafe as a gathering place.

Where it is

The cafe is at 280 West Main Street, Unit 105, in Freehold. Hours and the cake order menu are listed through the store locator at parisbaguette.com, the place to check before driving over for an early coffee or a weekend cake order.

Sources