NEW ORLEANS — French Quarter Boulangerie, owned by hotelier/restaurateur Robert Thompson, will open in 2023 at 416 Chartres Street in the building that once housed K Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen. The 12,060-square-foot restaurant will offer “food hall-style counter service with a focus on fresh baked breads, pastries and iconic southern and classic French dishes.” A sample menu item: the Bohemian sandwich with Benton’s ham, rarebit sauce, creole mustard and spicy pickle relish on potato rosemary focaccia.
Partners in the project include OnPath Credit Union and Cleveland-based real estate investment company GBX Group. Denver-based FAM Design is the design partner.
Thompson, creator of the Punch Bowl Social “eatertainment” concept, moved to New Orleans in early 2021. He purchased the Frenchmen Hotel (417 Frenchmen St.) in June of that year. In early 2022, Thompson’s hospitality firm Angevin & Co. partnered with GBX to purchase the Whitney Hotel at 617 Poydras Street from hotelier Joe Jaeger for $16.9 million. The Whitney is anticipated to re-open to guests in early 2023.
Punch Bowl Social was included on Fast Company’s Top 50 Most Innovative Companies in the World list in 2019 and earned Thompson individual praise as an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year. Angevin & Co. also owns Three Saints Revival in Denver.
