The early autumn air was laced with a soft sweetness as locals and curious visitors gathered one crisp morning outside the new bakery on 40. Inside, golden loaves and flaky pastries beckoned like old friends: Tous les Jours, a French-Korean bakery whose name translates to “Every Day”, was opening its doors for the first time.
Melissa and Brian, the couple behind the shop, greeted each guest with warm smiles and just-pulled oven steam. They were excited to finally share a vision they had been nurturing for awhile; a place where butter-laden croissants mingle with soft, pillowy milk bread; where the scent of fresh coffee and custard-filled brioche trails down the sidewalk of the West Patrick Street plaza.
As the clock struck opening hour, a quiet murmur rippled through the crowd. A mother with her daughter, hands clasped, moved toward the display of vanilla-cream croissants. An older gentleman lingered at the counter, peering through the glass at loaves of bread that looked as if they might melt under a finger.
Melissa laughed as she described her hopes for the shop: that it would be a space where neighbors could “kick their feet up, enjoy a pastry, and take a breath.” Brian nodded nearby, greeting a steady line of customers eager to explore the glass cases filled with cakes, buns, and croissants.
By midafternoon, shelves were clearing fast. And before the evening closed, the grand opening day ended in triumph — completely sold out.
As the day wound down, the lights inside glowed softly, illuminating a new sign that now hung proudly above the doors. The bold, bright letters of Tous les Jours were a beautifully refreshing addition to the plaza, a symbol of new life and energy in the neighborhood.
It was the start of many mornings yet to come — of lives intersecting over jam and crumb and the smell of warmth. Though Tous les Jours is part of a growing tradition of fusion bakeries marrying French technique with Korean creativity, this location feels distinctly personal. Melissa, Brian, and every loaf marking Tous les Jours’ beginning had invited the neighborhood in: a place that already carries the hum of routine not just for pastries, but for a place to gather, breathe, taste, and return to with the promise of becoming a neighborhood stop every day.
