Orange County will be home to Pandor Artisan Boulangerie & Café, specializing in authentic French artisan breads, Viennoiseries, pastries, tartines, paninis and salads. The 30-seat eatery will open to the public at 7 a.m. in Newport Beach’s Westcliff Plaza (1126 Irvine Avenue) and will focus on delivering a culinary experience that revolves around sustainable, local, and seasonal ingredients, complex textures, and global flavors.

Pandor’s wholesale counterpart, RTR Bakery, first introduced the brand’s artisan baked goods to Orange County in September 2011, with restaurant accounts including The Winery Restaurant & Wine Bar, Brasserie Pascal, Andrei’s Conscious Cuisine and The Cheese Shop at OC Mart Mix, and hotels including the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel, Montage Laguna Beach, St. Regis Monarch Beach, and the Balboa Bay Club. In less than one year, RTR Bakery has become one of OC’s leading artisan wholesale bread suppliers, operating as a small, family-owned bakery.

The name, Pandor, was inspired by the French words for golden bread, Pain d’Or. Husband-and-wife Owners, Raffi and Tiffany Sepetjian, created the concept after multiple visits to France, where they grew an appreciation for the true art of French baking. Over the past decade, the two were owners of the largest privately owned cigar retailer in California, Cohiba. Today, they still own and operate the company’s three locations, rebranded as Via Havana.

In an effort to maintain the multi-generational baking processes and recipes utilized in France, the Sepetjians tapped French Master Baker Julien Pietravalle to oversee the breads, French Pastry Chef Serge Bertrand to oversee the delicate pastries, and LA-based French Chef Eric Cuenin to complete the café menu of breakfast, lunch and dinner items.

“My husband and I have always loved to travel, and France has been a favorite destination of ours. Now, with three children, we find it hard to go to Europe to satiate our desire for authentic French baked goods,” explained Tiffany Sepetjian, who revealed that she and her husband had previously owned and operated a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory franchise in Rancho Mirage for seven years. “Our goal is to create a distinct brand that revolves around – at its core – producing great bread. The artisan bread takes center stage – with traditional offerings such as French Galette Bressane, or, at Pandor, Le Saint Maxine – as a full café comes together around it.”

Pandor Artisan Boulangerie & Café partners with like-minded local companies, including Costa Mesa’s Portola Coffee Lab, who will offer quality, traceable, fresh-roasted coffee, presented in an artful context.

Pandor Artisan Boulangerie & Café is dedicated to creating a unique and positive experience for its guests by conveying its authenticity and dedication to quality through every facet of the brand. Upon entering the 2,000 square-foot café, guests will be immersed into an environment that revolves around chic European style, reminiscent of the finest Parisian boulangeries. Customers will be able to choose from a wide assortment of artisan breads, Viennoiseries, pastries, paninis, tartines and salads that are unrivaled in quality and taste. Pandor will strive to present the highest quality service and exhibit an attentive and educational approach to every guest.

Pandor Artisan Boulangerie & Café will also offer special seasonal and holiday offerings. Catering and special event requests will be accommodated by a highly trained culinary team.

Pandor Artisan Boulangerie & Café is located in the Westcliff Plaza at 1126 Irvine Avenue, Newport Beach, CA 92660 and will be open 7 a.m. – 8 p.m. daily. For more information, please call 949.209.5099 or visit http://www.pandorbakery.com.