One of Manhattan’s hottest new bakeries is currently gearing up to open a brand new outpost near Grand Central later this year.
Maman is a New York based, French-inspired bakery from owners Elisa Marshall and Benjamin Sormonte. Established in 2014, the couple set out to establish a warm and inviting café space as a tribute to their mothers from the south of France and North America. Named after the French word for mother, Maman welcomes sleepy New Yorkers, local celebrities, moms-on-the-go, business partners, and reunited friends alike into their chic and rustic café locations.
Maman has become especially popular lately thanks to the beautiful design of its spaces. Both Marshall and Sormonte do freelance interior design work, so their expertise and flair for style have helped transformed their cafes into some of New York’s most charming hang out spots. Celebrated for the quality of their coffee and baked goods, Maman’s famous chocolate chip cookie was even named as one of “Oprah’s favorite things” in 2017.
Today, the humble SoHo café and bakery has transformed into one of the city’s most recognizable lifestyle brands, and boasts cafes across New York, Montreal, and Toronto. Beyond their cozy café spaces, Maman also offers popular items for retail, enabling guests to enjoy Maman’s fine baked goods in the comfort of their own home. The company also offers catering services for events, and even sells its own cookbook, daring fans to recreate their favorite items in their own kitchen.
Now, after launching their popular garden-inspired Maman King space in the West Village, the team is once again getting ready to debut a brand new store. Recent intel has revealed that Maman has struck a 10-year lease with Marx Realty to occupy the ground floor of a 35-story building at 155 East 44th Street, also known as 10 Grand Central. The building currently houses Dwayne Johnson’s production company Seven Bucks Productions, as well as the online news magazine The Week.
The ground floor locations offers an impressive 3,000 square feet of space, which will provide Sormonte and Marshall plenty of room to experiment with exciting new design choices. As the team prepares to get the new location ready for customers, they are continuing to expand across the country with new locations in brand new states. Their most recent expansion brought the brand to Bethesda, Maryland for the first time, and plans are in place to develop further locations elsewhere. For more information on all of their new expansions, as well as gorgeous photos of perfectly plated pastries, you can follow Maman on Instagram.
