Bread makers Quotidien rise in Hampstead

Sometimes the simplest ideas lead to the greatest success, as the latest branch of Le Pain Quotidien in Hampstead proves yet again. Leased through a deal arranged by licensed leisure specialists AG&G, the former McDonald’s High Street outlet joins more than 200 others in 17 countries.

“Le Pain Quotidien’s founder, Alain Coumont, grew up in a family of restaurateurs,” says AG&G director Richard Negus. “When the time came to start out on his own as a young chef in Brussels, he wanted the sort of bread he had tasted as a boy.

“But nobody could supply it – so he founded his own bakery to create pain quotidien, or daily bread. That was in 1990 and the concept was so good that within months he had 10 more branches.

“Since then the group has moved on to create excellent food and drink offers and demand appears to be insatiable. But at the core of these bakery-cafés is still great bread – every branch uses the same mother yeast from the original starter all those years ago – as the residents of Hampstead will now discover.”

Le Pain Quotidien has taken a lease on a passing rent of £89,000 and paid an undisclosed premium to McDonald’s.

For further information, contact Richard Negus on 020 7836 7826 or e-mail richard.negus@agg.uk.com