Athens will welcome the newest location of Paris Baguette, a neighborhood bakery cafe, in December 2025. Located in Briarcliff Shopping Center at 2375 W. Broad St., Paris Baguette will offer a variety of baked goods, sandwiches and beverages in what the company describes as a “warm and welcoming” environment.
Local entrepreneur and chief operating officer Amitkumar Patel gained interest in Paris Baguette after visiting the Buford location with his family for the first time. He said the products stood out to him and evoked a feeling of nostalgia.
“One particular product… brought some memories back from India,” Patel said. “We had a similar product that we enjoy with Indian tea in the morning…[called] a sweet bun, and it just jogged my memories.”
After immigrating to the United States from India in March 2000, Patel spent the last 25 years working his way through the food industry. He started at Publix supermarket before becoming the owner of Marco’s Pizza in 2013. Patel said he plans to bring all of the knowledge from those experiences with him into his next venture at Paris Baguette.
“These are my objectives: take care of the people who are taking care of the customers, and fall in love with what I do,” he said. “When you fall in love with something [that’s] how deep you can go and how much you take care of it, and that’s how I go about my business.”
Patel is the most excited about becoming a part of the Athens community and hopes that there are more opportunities to expand locally. He added that the team is working to ensure every employee shares the same passion for the brand that he does.
“There’s a need for a good neighborhood cafe in Athens,” Patel said. “[Paris Baguette] can welcome folks from any ages, and that’s what we look forward to —that everybody can be part of our new venture.”
Nick Scaccio, chief development officer of Paris Baguette, said that the Athens town and community made it a good fit for the bakery’s expansion.
“One of the things that we’re always trying to do is spread joy in new communities,” Scaccio said. “We were able to make a deal happen in Athens and support the community there.”
The bakery’s grand opening will include sampling, product introduction and a ribbon cutting ceremony. Scaccio said community feedback and partnerships will play an important role during the bakery’s first year.
“I’m very interested to see that the Paris Baguette brand is well received by both students and locals alike,” he said. “That would be an incredible feat.”
Scaccio described Paris Baguette as the “wonderland of bakeries,” offering over 100 bread and pastry products along with more than 20 different cakes, noting that the quality and variety of their products will set them apart from other bakeries in the Athens area.
“It’s pretty comprehensive offering for a bakery,” he said. “And it’s a pretty one stop shop in terms of… what you can look for at a Paris Baguette.”
To Scaccio, the expansion of Paris Baguette into new markets has been “incredibly humbling.” Serving communities along with working with franchise operators to open their first Paris Baguette location, second and beyond has been the most rewarding part of overseeing the expansion for him.
“We’re excited for the market, excited to serve the community of Athens,” Scaccio said. “We’re eager to continue to serve the neighborhoods across Georgia.”
