Le Pain Quotidien to Re-Open on Larchmont

Here’s some good news for Larchmont: Le Pain Quotidien is coming back. The casual Belgian eatery, a longtime staple of Larchmont, closed down during the pandemic and briefly re-opened, but was shuttered again as the business’ parent company filed for bankruptcy. As we reported earlier, the new owner – Aurify Brands – announced it might re-open some of the more profitable LPQ locations. At the time, we heard Larchmont was on the list to re-open, and now we’ve heard from the Larchmont Village Business Improvement District (BID) that LPQ has signed a new lease and will return to its old space very soon.

“We are thrilled that Le Pain Quotidien will be reopening this summer,” said Heather Duffy Boylston, President  of The Duffy Co. and spokesperson for the Larchmont Village BID. “Each reopening in Larchmont is met with gratitude and appreciation. We all have a renewed sense of loyalty to our Larchmont businesses.”

Andy Stern, co-CEO of Aurify Brands, which completed its purchase of LPQ on Tuesday, told Restaurant Business earlier this week that LPQ is a good brand that “simply needs a strong hand to guide its business model to adapt to changing consumers.”  According to news reports, Aurify paid $3 million for the right to be the Belgium-based company’s U.S. master franchisee, and the bankruptcy process allowed the company to shed its least profitable locations and leases.

“Under Aurify, LPQ will reopen more than 40 locations, less than half of what it had before the pandemic hit,” reported Restaurant Business.  “Aurify’s purchase price represents a paltry $75,000 per location and is representative of the type of opportunistic deals available to investors willing to take on the brand at this particular time. Low prices, as well as the belief that restaurants will eventually get their sales back, have helped to feed a surprising number of deals. Several restaurant chains have changed hands during the pandemic, with just one—Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes—opting to liquidate. That was not the expected outcome once the pandemic started.”

New York City-based Aurify started out as Five Guys franchisees then created its own brands in 2011. It now operates Melt Shop, Fields Good Chicken, The Little Beet and The Little Beet Table.

According to Restaurant Business, Aurify expects to reopen the restaurants as early as mid-July, which the company says will bring back 1,200 jobs. Aurify is bringing back much of Le Pain’s team, though it’s not clear if that will include local staff.

The Buzz  contacted building owner Mick McCullough about the new developments, but McCullough said he isn’t ready to make any public comments yet.

This story was updated. Le Pain Quotidien is a Belgian eatery, not French as we reported earlier.