La Madeleine French Bakery and Bistro is scouting Lafayette locations, and real estate sources say it may be close to making a decision.
Marketing officials with La Medeleine French Bakery and Bistro's corporate office in Dallas have not returned phone calls in the past week about the company's interest in the Lafayette market, but a source close to the company says it intends to open a cafe here.
ABiz's real estate sources say the company may be leaning toward a spot in Parc Lafayette, the new mixed-use development at Camellia Boulevard and Kaliste Saloom Road.
Late last year, the 28-year-old bakery-bistro concept launched a franchise program. At the time, Nation's Restaurant News reported that La Madeleine, a division of Group Le Duff, operated 60 bakery-cafés in Georgia, Louisiana and Texas, as well as the Washington, D.C., area. "The company expects new franchised units to require a capital investment of $800,000 to $1.25 million, with an initial franchise fee of $40,000," the publication noted.
It is unclear whether the Lafayette store would be a franchised or corporate-owned location.
Read more of Nation's Restaurant News' story here.