Today we’d like to introduce you to Fabienne Soulies.
Hi Fabienne, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
First and foremost, “Pitchoun Bakery” is a family story. “Pitchoun!” is an authentic French “Boulangerie & Patisserie Café” located originally in Downtown Los Angeles since April 2015, which then expanded with another location opened in August 2018 at the Beverly Center. Owners Fabienne and Frederic Soulies, a French couple are both bread and pastry lovers. Frederic comes from a long line of French family bakers and farmers. Frederic inherited the love of natural organic, homegrown produce, natural resources and the passion that stems from it. Although having gone to college, Frederic’s passion for cooking brought him to graduate from the National School of Bakery in Paris. Fabienne on her side inherited the knowledge of Mediterranean cuisine with an Italian twist from her parents. They decided nine years ago to move back to California, where they met 18 years before when they were students, to settle down with their three kiddos, and to pursue their long-time dream to bake and cook European specialties for Angelenos! Pitchoun makes a point in bringing its French savoir-faire & culinary techniques to California; Frédéric is surrounded by experienced French Chefs in pastry, bread, as well as in the kitchen. Frederic oversees the production as well as the general management, while Fabienne takes care of marketing & sales.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Building a business from A to Z, and especially in a foreign country, is not easy for sure :). The first obstacles are obtaining all the construction permits and passing the health inspection. Then hiring, training and maintaining your staff is challenging too. But once you open your doors and see the smile on your customers’ faces every day, you forget the struggles and progressively set up smoothly your operations.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Pitchoun! provides Angelenos with the quintessential French dining experience. It is a fast casual dining place but quality-driven only, open seven days a week for breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea time, in addition to brunch on weekends. From house made pastries to delicious soups and salads, everything is prepared from scratch on site using family recipes in our state-of-the-art bakery and tastes just as it would in France. Only the best ingredients and local produce, when not organic, are used. This artisan bakery specializes in creating freshly baked bread and pastry as well as in proposing unique specialty fine desserts. The pastry team at Pitchoun! is full of amazing talent and creates cakes, chocolates, and sweet confections for every season.
Pitchoun! also has a wonderful selection of French wines and craft beers, available for customers to purchase by the glass or by bottle at the DTLA location only.
Pitchoun offers catering services and answers all corporate or private requests and deliveries, with a menu of fancy savory bites or finger food casual dishes, as well as large custom cakes for special occasions and weddings.
A little word about our name: “Pitchoun” (pronounce it PITCH-OON) is a French affectionate word meaning “kiddo” in a loving way… It is an old-fashioned word that parents used to use when addressing children in the old French dialect in Provence and in the South West part of France. As a matter of fact, Frédéric was always addressed like this by his grandparents while they looked after him at their bakery in Agen, France.
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
The pandemic has been (and is still) very impactful on businesses like ours. We could never have thought until three years ago that our whole life could collapse and stop for such a long moment, all at the same time. We learnt that we could all be resilient, much more than we imagined. Pitchoun closed for a short time, then after developed more food deliveries; that was the first link that we were happy to keep with our clients. Later, when we started to reopen the restaurant on site, we reassured ourselves seeing that community remains essential; as a neighborhood business, keeping a human connection with our locals, even when isolated, has been very important for every one of us.
Pricing:
- – Croissant 100% butter $3.50
- – Baguette bread (AWARDED) $3.50
- – Classic Eggs Benedict $14.20
- – French Club Sandwich $12.50
- – Strawberry tart $6.50
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.pitchounbakery.com
- Instagram: @pitchounbakery
- Facebook: Pitchoun Bakery & Cafe
- Twitter: @pitchounbakery
- Yelp: Pitchoun!
