Local Business

Tuesday, Nov. 10, 1998

Couple finds Coastal Bend is perfect place to cook up French bakery

Tarts, pastries, croissants among offerings of fourth-generation baker at Le Succes

   When Alicia and Daniel Louis considered leaving cold, damp Lyon, France, last year to open a bakery in the United States, they wanted to move to a warm coastal city with a population of about 300,000.
   Alicia, a Dallas native, hadn't visited Corpus Christi since the 1970s. Her husband, a fourth-generation baker from France, had never been here. But after one visit in January, the couple knew they had found a home for themselves and their business.
   "We wanted to find a community where there was a need," says Alicia, 53. "And we wanted a smaller market. We wanted a place where we could contribute and not get lost in the crowd."
   After months spent installing special ovens and readying their store, they opened Le Succes on Oct. 28 at Huntington Square shopping center at South Staples Street and Saratoga Boulevard. The store is named for Daniel's favorite pastry.
   Already, Daniel's tempting pastries, tarts, filled croissants and breads are winning the loyalty of customers who stream in at all hours of the day.
   Le Succes will gradually expand the number of pastries and breads it offers, but for now Daniel and Alicia said they have their hands full.
   "There are other things we're going to have, but it's taken all the energy we had to do this," Daniel said.
   There's no day-old bread here. Daniel wakes at 2 a.m. each day to begin baking all goods from scratch for the store's 7 a.m. opening. "And that's not early enough," he admits.
   Alicia and Daniel met in Dallas in the 1980s. She was a hairdresser and he was opening a bakery for a group of private investors in Plano. After marrying, they moved to France, where they lived for several years before leaving for the United States.
   Daniel sold an apartment he owned in Lyon for capital needed to open the 1,600-square-foot bakery.
   Inside the store are black and white photos of Daniel's father outside the family's bakery in Lyon as well as a French chariot like those used to carry firewood to bakeries in his native country.
   

October sales

   October same-store sales rose 2.3 percent over the same period last year, according to TeleCheck Services Inc. The Southwest region, comprising Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri and Kansas, led the nation with a 3.2 percent rise in sales.
   Based on current economic conditions, TeleCheck anticipates a 3 percent to 5 percent gain in same-store sales for the holidays. Same-store sales represent sales at stores open at least a year.
   "Consumer retail spending continued at a modest pace, consistent with the slower growth of the economy," said William Ford, TeleCheck's senior economic adviser. "October's sales suggest retailers will see a moderate increase in same-store retail sales during the holidays."
   On Retailing is published each Tuesday in the Staff Writer business section. On Retailing items include new, relocated and expanded businesses. Items for consideration should be submitted to: On Retailing, Corpus Christi Staff Writer, P.O. Box 9136, Corpus Christi, Texas 78469; e-mail Jeffrey Tomich at tomichj@scripps.com; fax items to (512) 886-3732; or call (512) 886-4316.

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