La Baguette Magique: A career change was kneaded
The baker and her husband loaded up an Excel spreadsheet, laid out a map, packed up their car, and headed out on the road for three weeks as they looked for a location. West Chester won.
Catherine Seisson, a French-born Ph.D. working an executive's job here and in Canada with pharm giant Sanofi, had enough of the corporate life.
She took a year off and went back to school - Hôtelière François Rabelais near her hometown of Lyon - while deciding to develop her childhood hobby: baking.
She'd set up a French bakery in the States. This led to internships in New York and Virginia.
But where would she locate? She and her husband, Patrick, who still works in the pharmaceutical field, wanted to set up in Pennsylvania because of a trade program. She said they wanted to be close to a city, in a good school district for their son, and in an area that would appreciate artisan baking.
They loaded up an Excel spreadsheet, laid out a map ("not a GPS"), packed up their car, and headed out on the road for three weeks. "The Poconos and Allentown to Pittsburgh," she said.
West Chester had what they were looking for. In March, La Baguette Magique opened at 202 W. Market St. (610-620-4729), across from the justice center. Seisson used Bastille Day last week to mark the shop's grand opening.
It's a sleek, open cafe with glassed-in shelves holding an enviable line of breads, pastries, sandwiches, quiches, and the like.
On a recent visit, perhaps half of the customers bought baked goods to go, while the others sat at a table. Just about everyone trotted out their French - whether high school or fluent - to chat with Seisson, who - it must be noted - is not bored in the least nowadays.