Au Bon Pain, the bakery-café restaurant chain, unveiled a new store design on Tuesday, with plans to roll it out company-wide in 2023.
“Our new cafes give on-the-go guests what they crave and deserve — handcrafted, delicious food, fast — while offering a lovely space for guests who want to stay for a bit,” said Au Bon Pain president Ericka Garza. “Fun details, like a sweet bonjour at the entrance, remind guests of our legacy as a French-style bakery, to which we remain true.”
A new ordering station, a self-serve bakery, and to-go areas add efficiencies for Au Bon Pain’s core guests. The company said navigating the cafe will be intuitive, with product placement and prominent wayfinding signage throughout the ordering process, while the hand-painted floor and wall signage will call out the bakery’s French roots. Comfortable seating indoors and out will offer a sense of community and rest.
“Enhancing the look of our locations is essential to our ‘Back to Bright’ campaign,” said Garza. “We set out to build on our promise to serve delicious food in a friendly, fast, and clean environment and create an exceptional guest experience. The Cafe of the Future visually represents our brand’s purpose.”
Au Bon Pain partnered with Rubber & Road, a San Francisco-based brand strategy and retail design firm. Rubber & Road redesigned the bakery-café’s interiors and exteriors with finishes that complement the brand’s healthful, freshly made menu items.
Au Bon Pain introduced a modernized, grab-and-go kiosk design in Empire State Plaza in Albany, New York last year, emphasizing the commitment to the off-premises customer.
Dallas-based Ampex Brand acquired Au Bon Pain, which ended 2021 with 131 units, last summer. CEO Tabbassum Mumtaz pledged at that time “to lead the bakery-cafe segment into the future.”