Gold is the traditional gift for a 50th anniversary, but La Baguette French Bakery & Bistro already has its share of glistening gold baguettes and croissants.
So instead of getting a present on its 50th, the iconic bakery/restaurant will give back with a free event. A special celebration will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on October 3rd at 3088 Poplar Avenue in Chickasaw Oaks. “It’s going to be really fun,” says general manager Tessa Pascover. “We’ve got live music. We’re setting up a photo booth.”
They’ll also feature inflatables, face painting, and a spot where children can decorate sugar cookies and pick their own toppings and icings for single-serve cakes.
People can also try to win prizes on a spinning wheel. These will include Eiffel Tower key chains, French-themed flat bracelets, and La Baguette’s signature items, including baguettes and petit fours.
There will also be a chance to win 100 free baguettes over the course of one year and five gift certificates for a dozen petit fours with no expiration date.
Dating to 1976, La Baguette was started by several Europeans, former general manager Gene Amagliani told Memphis Magazine. They brought in a French bread baker and a French pastry chef because there was nothing like that in Memphis.
In 2021, Tashie Restaurant Group purchased La Baguette. Since it was sold, the size of the bistro doubled, Pascover says. “They doubled the seating. The backroom was storage; now, it’s a dining room we rent out as an event space.”
A lot of equipment was added, including a fryer, grill, and a flattop, so La Baguette is now able to offer more items besides sandwiches and soup in the bistro.
The bakery was redone last June. “We hung bread up on the walls, trying to be French-inspired, and we added a whole other case for bakery items,” says Pascover.
They brought back some customer-requested discontinued pastries, including the raisin Danish and almond poppy seed Danishes, and added gluten-free and vegan options (available every day).
Asked what the most popular item is, Pascover says, “The chicken salad sandwich and petit fours fight for the number-one-selling spot every week.”
On the bistro side, the spicy tomato soup is “legendary.” And right up there with it is their French onion soup. They also offer a daily rotating soup, including creamy squash-and-corn chowder.
As for future plans, Pascover says, “We’ve been taste-testing beignet recipes. That is coming soon, for sure. Another thing I’m interested in is pies … banana cream pies, key lime. That’s something we’ve never really done.”
“We also are hoping to create little take-and-bake items,” Pascover says. “Maybe some cobblers or crinkle cake.”
They may begin offering king cakes all year. They do 50 a day during the Lenten season. “The recipe is good,” says Pascover. “It doesn’t have to be Mardi Gras.”
And discussions are underway on whether or not to get a liquor license and serve alcohol.
What makes La Baguette special? “It’s got really nice life to it,” Pascover says. “And Chickasaw Oaks is just an amazing oasis smack dab in the middle of the city. It’s an escape to a different world when you come through those doors … the bricks and the plants.”
One great thing about being half a century old is that the customers who came into La Baguette 50 years ago with their parents are “now coming in with their grandchildren.”
Pascover wants those next generations to keep coming back. She instructs her staff to tell customers, “Yes. We’d love to do that for you.”
“We want to accommodate our guests. We want to say ‘Yes.’”
