ma petit bakery and cafe headed for a photo finish
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There’s no stopping Ma Petit now. Owner and chef Nary Kim was enthusiastically describing her proposed menu of light cafe fare, smoothies and baked goods while giving a tour of the nearly completed space at 3rd and Spring.
After nearly three years in the works, all involved are breathing a sigh of relief. It’s been a long ride — but well worth the wait now that the French bistro-inspired cafe’s grand opening is on the horizon.
And Kim is opening up with a mind for the community. After reading through comments on several of our previous posts, she made a decision to scale down the menu and focus on doing a few “signature” dishes that will represent the cafe well. Therefore, breakfast, lunch and dinner will use fresh produce that has been locally sourced (when possible).
“Our refrigerator is three times larger than our freezer. I’m trying not to use any frozen ingredients, especially chicken,” she told me (emphasis hers).
In addition to a range of hot and cold sandwiches, gourmet salads and soups, look for clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl and chicken pot pie.
All food and baked goods will fill the mid-range price point, appealing to Civic Center workers tired of Sbarro and Burger King, as well as Historic Core loftees looking for comfort food nearby. As a prime niche-filling bakery operation, Ma Petit’s freshly baked loaves of bread, cakes, muffins, quiche, sourdough and croissants will be displayed front-and-center in the oversized counter.
Following inspections, staff training and finishing touches, Kim is expecting to open within two weeks. Thoughts, comments and suggestions are eagerly solicited!
-origami bistro & bar opens softly today
-ma petit menu preview, more on ‘the mix’
-first look: ma petit bakery and cafe
Ma Petit Bakery and Cafe
257 S Spring Street (Inside the Douglas Building)
Los Angeles, CA 90012
mapetitla.com
17 comments
Sounds great but we need Sprinkles/Magnolia …and dare I say Babycakes (for the vegan folks) quality cupcakes in a Downtown bakery?
isn’t the douglas building at 3rd & spring?
Beautiful space. This is going to do really well.
Fixed. Thanks, Celia
what are the hours looking like here? hopefully they can stay open on weekends and until evening.
Hours are still being worked out, but dinner is definitely going to be offered.
I love this! Spring is slowly becoming a destination for all types of food.
hoping their coffee is better than the dreadful lot 44 next door. (won’t take much)
yeah! thanks rich.
I beg to differ about Lot 44. I love the place, and I don’t have a thing invested in the place other than I live downtown and want to support the coffee entrepreneurs rather than the coffee chains. Their concept is exquisite coffees, for people who want variety. They are also really trying and I want them to succeed. We need to support our small businessmen trying to make a go of it.
Gotta agree with #8, Lot 44 is pretty awful. I’ve been there at least three times, had decidedly average coffee (at exorbitant prices) and lousy service — even with the place is empty, which it almost always is when I walk by. (There is one barista in particular almost entirely lacking in even the most basic social graces.)
All for supporting local businesses, but not all for throwing money away at a poorly run business with a second rate product. I’ll keep an open mind and try them again in a few months, but for now, walk a couple extra blocks to Groundworks, or make the trip to Intelligentsia for top notch coffee.
Once last point worth noting, if they didn’t advertise themselves as having a superior product, I wouldn’t be nearly as critical.
i’m all for supporting local businesses as well, and especially the businesswomen whom chattycathy for some reason doesn’t seem to want to support!
I live in the Douglas and have been anxiously awaiting MaPetit’s arrival. Hooray!! So happy to hear that it will be opening soon. I plan to be a regular there, as I have a penchant for French bakery goods. I’ve sampled their food already (they did a little sampling for residents) and it is great!! As for Lot 44, I like their espresso drinks (but have not tried their drip coffee) and their chocolates, cupcakes and muffins. And with Origami open (and also serving excellent food and drinks — love their signature martini!), the Douglas Building is truly becoming THE place to be!
“M” is all mixed up. Chattycathy supports small businesses, owned by men or women, …whatever, who try to make a go of it downtown. Lets not get difficult here…just go support your local businesses , will ya?
Really impressed with the retail offerings at the Douglas Building. This might be the best collection of retail at any of the adaptive re-use buildings in downtown.
^why do we have to lose our critical eye just because something opens downtown? if a new place offers a good product, they will get patrons. survival of the fittest. not complicated.
i’m kind of tired of the line, “oh come on, they’re DOWNTOWN! just support them already!” it feels creepy.
remember that place on 2nd and broadway? it was a cafe? well, it sucked. and lots of people said so, and lots of people said “go out and support it! it’s DOWNTOWN, you know!” if people hadn’t complained about that mexican place (Lime?), who knows if they would have revamped it into a much better establishment.
so let’s be honest here about the places that open downtown and not blindly give everyone a pass.
if LOTS of people are saying the same thing about a place, they need to listen, adjust and hopefully make a turn around. it’s not our responsibility as denizens to throw money at every entrepreneur because they venture into the neighborhood. give us a good product, and we’ll come. simple.
Amen Craig