Chapelure reverses course on closing, reopens as The Flaky Croissant

When Tae Ahn chose not to renew Chapelure’s lease in Hannah Plaza at the end of last year, it meant an end to the bakery and coffee shop’s 18-year run.

Tae’s wife, Soogee, had already stepped back about a decade ago, focusing on real estate and time with their children. After nearly two decades of baking, Tae was ready for a break of his own.

But weeks later, following an outpouring of community support, the Ahns began rethinking their decision.

“If you look on Facebook, we had hundreds of well-wishes, and messages of how they will miss us,” Soogee said. “And it took a little time to let that sink in.”

After a month of rest, the Ahns decided the shop’s journey wasn’t over yet. A realtor friend suggested the former Biggby on the corner of Hagadorn and Mt. Hope as a potential new spot, and they jumped on it.

The former Chapelure reopened as The Flaky Croissant on Thursday, March 4 in the new location, selling the same pastries Chapelure customers know and love. Tae Ahn is returning as the shop’s baker, with Soogee returning after a decade-long break from bakery work.

The new name emphasizes the shop’s croissants, an item Soogee said has become increasingly popular. Because the bakery sells only same-day-baked items, The Flaky Croissant’s menu has adapted to keep up with customer trends from its last location: more pastries, fewer cakes. Cakes have been eliminated from the menu, allowing the shop to expand its pastry menu with creative pastry options like cream-filled or Dubai chocolate croissants.

Remodeling the former Biggby was a process Soogee led, her first re-entry into that end of the business. She chose forest green, a color she’d loved for years. Since the reopening, she’s been working as an all-rounder, but delegating more tasks to employees to avoid burnout.

“I’m a little more excited, because I was actually burnt out before,” she said. “There is the excitement of a new business and the recharging I needed, so I’m really happy.”

Before she stepped down in 2016, the bakery dominated Ahn’s life. The birth of her third child led her to pivot to a career where she could have more control over her hours.

“I wanted to raise my third child, versus my other two — they grew up in day cares because it’s such physically laboring work,” she said. “Back then, it was 7 in the morning until 5 p.m., when it was time to pick them up. And I’d get them bathed, and then I’d literally have to come back until 9 p.m., to close.”

Since reopening, the bakery has been slammed. Word of mouth and conversations on social media meant the bakery was busy the moment it opened its doors, Soogee said. That means anyone dying to have another croissant should arrive early — sometimes they sell out by noon.

“Customers have actually been lining up, and the only drawback is that, because we are such a small kitchen — it used to be a coffee shop — we can only produce so much, so even though we’ve been working around the clock,” Soogee said. “We keep selling out by noon.”

Soogee asked customers to give the kitchen some grace while they work on getting to a point where they can at least last a few more hours. The support has been heartwarming despite the difficulties, she said.

“It hasn’t sunken in yet, honestly,” she said. “But it’s really reassuring.”