Paris Baguette, a French-style bakery chain backed by a Korean family, has closed and emptied out its store on Broadway and 70th Street. “One of the workers said that Paris Baguette is gone and not just remodeling,” tipster Steven wrote. A recent article detailed some of the chain’s struggles. Thanks to Ian, Lola, Steven and Lila for the tips.
Flying Tiger will close all of its stores, including the one on Columbus and 81st, by the end of November, the company announced on Facebook. Flying Tiger sells all sorts of unique toys, gifts and household products, mostly for just a few bucks. “We have had our ups and downs but have always felt the love from our customers… and that love is reciprocated. However, the past 7 months have, for obvious reasons, been a bigger struggle for us than we could have ever imagined, which is why we have made the extremely difficult decision to close all our stores in the United States as of late November.
Vineyard Vines, a preppy clothing chain, is opening a new store in the Time Warner Center “hopefully by the end of the month,” the Lincoln Square BID announced.
Sorry to hear about Flying Tiger! It was fun to shop there.
I never understood the appeal of Paris Baguette. The pastries were so very sugary sweet, and the small sandwiches were too pricey.
That’s exactly what you get in Paris patisseries. I never understood their appeal.
Wow, what a great and sensitive reply
Have you tried their egg salad?
The best.
End of my egg salad sandwich.
This person basically comments negatively about everything.
Actually you could not be more wrong about this. PB had LESS sweet pastries than places like Zabar’s and Orwasher’s. Asian style pastries are always less sweet. Just go to a cake shop in Chinatown and taste anything.
“Asian style pastries are always less sweet.” — everything you stated, including this, I find to be the exact opposite of my experience. Chinatown pastries are made from this super refined white flour, and too sweet or cheap (to me), ingredients.
I still don’t get these sweeping and irrelevant generalizations that get through as comments.
Paris Baguette was owned by a Korean family. That has nothing to do with Chinatown or Chinese pastries, or probably Korean pastries either as it has not been described as a Korean bakery and is called PARIS Baguette.
Fully understandable to me that some people like it, some don’t, some think it’s too sweet, some think not, but none of those legitimate opinions have anything to do with the overarching “Asian style” comments. Its a big continent,folks.
Well some of us have actually BEEN all over China and Korea and understand that the entire reign is influenced by China more than any other country. To call it “Asian style” is 100% appropriate. I have family that grew up in mainland China and they all complain about how sweet pastries are in the west. Talking about Korean owned PB and Chinatown in the same conversation totally appropriate. If you think this is wrong it shows your lack of understanding of SE Asia.
Thank you!
I guess everyone’s tastes are different. I never found PB’s pastries to be too sweet, unlike Magnolia, whose cakes are so sweet they hurt my teeth.
my teeth hurt just passing Magnolia–that overpowering scent
Agree regarding Magnolia as well, there is nothing there I care for, except for the small apple crumb. I’m a Maison Kayser fan, and my go-to location by Columbus Circle has been closed since the curse of 2020 began. The closing of La Toulousaine was a huge loss, as it was my favorite pastry place (and GREAT breakfasts like scrambled eggs), and the recently widowed owner was just wonderful.
Well, some people (myself included) have a major sweet tooth. And kids love sweet things and there’s certainly no shortage of kids on the UWS.
Paris Baguette had the best sandwiches. I will be sorry to see it go.
I will also miss Flying Tiger. My daughter is going to be heartbroken. They always had fun things there.
“Paris Baguette had the best sandwiches. I will be sorry to see it go.”
You and a dozen or so other dumpster divers who nightly raided that PB’s trash bags for unsold goods.
I’m sad to see Paris Baguette closing. I’ve picked up many cakes there over the years for office celebrations, and they’ve always been well received (especially the cocoanut mango). The staff has always been friendly and efficient, never failing to include a knife and some candles, even when I’d forget to ask. I hope their location on Columbus Circle stays open as their almond croissants are a great morning treat.
I’m so sad to hear about Flying Tiger. It’s such a fun and inexpensive store to shop in. Every time I went I would find something quirky to buy.
It’s a Danish owned chain. The stores have already closed in the UK, but I heard from friends that they are still open in malls in Denmark. I hope they will be able to expand outside of the country again. 🙂
I am saddened to hear that Flying Tiger is closing. Is there anything we can do to keep the Columbus Ave. and 81st Street open?
Doesn’t look like it. They are closing ALL stores in the USA.
Keep them open how? You can buy the store.
Sad about so many permanent store closings, and especially will miss Flying Tiger on Columbus.
Paris baguette on Broadway between 96 to 97th St. is not closing and it’s a terrific store wirht friendly workers and delicious pastries They have a few chairs and tables front of the store .
It has been my go to place to have short business meetings it’s always delightful place to sit and talk.
So sad about Flying Tiger. Besides it being fun to discover quirky new things there, we have come to rely on Flying Tiger for affordable useful good-quality everyday items like kitchen sponges, reading glasses, headphone earbuds, exercise equipment, pet toys…. I know in the grand scheme of things it is minor, but for us, life will be more expensive and less joyous without Flying Tiger.
“I never understood the appeal of Paris Baguette.”
Yeah, the way to understand Paris Baguette is to spend even a few days in South Korea and notice that there are over 3000 of these stores there, and then spend a little time pondering why the Koreans love them so much.
I’m far from particularly knowledgeable about Korean culture, but my takeaway is that Paris Baguette is sort of a Korean idea of what a French bakery is, but altered to Korean tastes, in sort of a chain atomosphere. To plop that idea without comment in a random spot on the UWS (and de-Korean-ize some of the offerings) — yes, the average American without that context would be puzzled indeed about what’s going on there.
Which might have been the problem with that location. The one on 32nd Street in “Koreatown” is a real hotspot on weekend evenings, for example (or at least it was pre-pandemic).
Anybody know if the Paris Baguette up on Broadway and 96th is closing also ? They had some nice sandwiches and they let us play Cribbage all night 🙂
So awful. The small affordable places gone big expensive chains thriving. We are a sad sad country and city.
Flying Tiger, while affordable, is a chain with over 950 stores. So you’re against only expensive chain stores?
Always a sad day to see stores and businesses close these days. No matter how small, a loss for everyone.
“a preppy clothing chain” on the UWS!
Disorienting.
Characterizing Vinyard Vines as simply “preppy” is like characterizing Donald Trump as a Republican. VV is pretentious and way overpriced.
Paris Baguette was the worst excuse for a pastry shop I ever encountered. It survived only because it had a prime location.
Finally, someone who I concur with regarding Paris Baugette.
New to uws. Where would you recommend for fine pastry and Great cakes in the area?
Citartella, second floor. The Bouche de Noel is possibly the most extravagant dessert you can buy in a store and successfully transport home. It is a jaw dropper on any Christmas table (and tastes even better than it looks).
Citarella on Broadway at 75th St. (at its bakeshop on the second floor) has in my opinion the best fancy cakes on the UWS.
Orwashers breads are the best on the UWS, including Silver Moon. The baugette is the star.
Agree with both Silver Moon and Citarella.
Silver Moon’s breads are fantastic (try the semolina and cheesy varieties) and everything else I’ve ever had is also very good. I’m also a big fan of their Bavarian pretzels, and I like their bagels (all sour dough).
Citarella is great for anything upscale. Like everything else they sell, you pay for what you get.
For cake and cupcakes, try Billy’s Bakery on Columbus – West Side branch of Billy’s downtown
Silver Moon on Broadway at 105th, NE corner.
Silver Moon Bakery on Broadway and 105th is excellent
Vineyard Vines is AWFUL, ugh, I can’t believe that’s the only thing “opening.” Depressing.
Very sad about Flying Tiger. I was always sorry that my children are no longer young because their stuff would have been perfect for children’s birthday parties.
A preppy clothing chain? For those working from home? We need Flying Tiger a lot more for cheer me ups, and fun useful gifts for friends. Maybe they don’t know how much they are appreciated. Hope they could keep one store?? I Don’t shop at PB. Feels like faux French.
In past several months we’ve seen two “European” bakery chains go bankrupt; Maison Kayser and Le Pain Quotidien. Both were snapped up by Aurify Brands. Same people responsible for Five Guys Burgers and several other chains.
City is still home however to many independent French bakeries such as Mille-feuille Bakery Cafe and Gourmandises de France.
REALLY SAD AND SORRY to see Flying Tiger go.
My family’s go-to for so many items not available anywhere else. Such specific, affordable stuff..where do we go now?
That’s a shame about Flying Tiger. Quirky yet inexpensive is hard to find anywhere in Manhattan these days.
The best thing about Paris Baguette is getting Asian baked goods you can usually only find in Chinatown or little Korea – little egg custard pies, sweet rolls, bean fillings. (For French pastries go to cafe Margot or Mille-feuille. ) The closest PB I know now isn’t really UWS but until at least Thursday there was one open at 58th and Amsterdam – where the old Strokos was, across from Greek Kitchen, near the hospital and John Jay.
Hilarious how even the most innocuous article can spawn arguments. I enjoy reading the comments for this reason. New Yorkers are so opinionated it is very amusing. Sad about Flying Tiger.
I will really miss Flying Tiger. It was always fun to see the new designs each season for dishes, reusable bags, umbrellas, etc. – one of those little neighborhood pleasures that mark the year. I was really glad when they reopened after the lockdown, so this is very disappointing.
Phew! So glad to hear that Flying Tiger closed. I found it depressing to see all the useless plastic stuff they sold there, imagining it eventually adding to our overload of environmental waste. I hope they open a store in that location that sells useful recyclable goods made to last at prices that reflect legitimate wages for workers.
What an odd response. You can clearly see on the website that they use sustainable materials for all of their products.
On the contrary about Flying Tiger. They did not use bags … unless for 99-cents you bought one of their wonderful, cotton totes. Most of the stuff was wood, not plastic. They had fabulous design at extremely affordable prices. Everything had a use — which is the point of the place, and with the most wonderful, modern Danish design. They had great toys for kids. I’m 65 and bought their stickers and other stuff.
What a bummer about Flying Tiger. It was always crowded in there and I found lots of good things there over the years. My favorite vegetable peeler, of all things, is from Flying Tiger. It was a bright (and affordable!) spot on Columbus Ave.
I am so sad about Flying Tigers. I love that store and their products. They have not sold online, as far as I can tell, so I don’t know if they will or not now, either. I am greatly disappointed that they will not leave at least one store in NYC. What a shame!
Flying Tiger is always such fun. It reminded me of Azuma (which I think became Pier 1). Sad to see it go
West Side Restaurant/ diner at the northeast corner of 69th Street I was told is closing it’s doors. Their rent is $25,000 a month and the landlord won’t budge and they have been too hurt by the pandemic.
This is a real loss to the neighborhood, a true long time establishment.