A French bakery with locations in Magnolia and Phinney Ridge is planning to open a new shop in Ballard, taking over the former Starbucks space at 2200 NW Market St.
Petit Pierre Bakery co-owner Joanna Chau told My Ballard that they are in the early stages of planning and are hoping to open in early 2027.
The larger Ballard location will allow Petit Pierre to expand beyond the menu offered at its existing shops.
“We were looking for a larger space,” Chau said. “We wanted to expand and do breads.”
She said the Ballard bakery is expected to include sourdough loaves, baguettes and other breads that the company’s current locations don’t have room to produce. The shop will also serve Petit Pierre’s pastries, desserts and lunch items, and the owners are considering longer operating hours than at their existing bakeries.
Chau said Ballard had been on the bakery’s radar for some time.
“We have a lot of people coming by and asking about Ballard,” she said. “After Besalu closed, there weren’t as many options for French pastries.”
Cafe Besalu, which specialized in French baking, closed in 2023 after 23 years.
Chau said a friend who lives in the neighborhood suggested they look at the former Starbucks space.
“It has beautiful windows, and it was the bigger space we were looking for,” Chau said. “We went and saw it, and the rest is history.”
Starbucks operated in that space for 13 years before the coffee chain closed the store in September 2025 as part of a broader round of closures affecting at least 20 Puget Sound-area locations. Before Starbucks moved in, the space was home to the 5 Corner Market Bar & Kitchen for just over a year and Lombardi’s Italian Restaurant and Bar, which operated there for more than two decades.
Petit Pierre describes itself as a family-owned French bakery that prepares its pastries and desserts in-house each day using traditional French techniques and French-imported ingredients while incorporating seasonal Pacific Northwest products.
Parisian transplants Laure and Alex Le Benoist opened the original Petite Pierre in 2015, which they named after their son, Pierre. Chau bought the bakery in 2020 with her husband, chef Pierre Poulin, who was born in Paris and trained at L’École de Paris des Métiers de la Table before working in Michelin-starred restaurants in France and New York. Chau grew up in Seattle and earned a degree in pastry and specialty breads from Seattle Culinary Academy before working in restaurants, bakeries, and chocolate companies in Seattle and later as a pastry chef in New York City.
According to the bakery’s website, the pair met while working together at Aureole in New York before returning to Seattle.
Chau and Poulin expanded to Phinney Ridge in 2022, and recently operated a pop-up at Métier Cycling & Cafe on Capitol Hill. The Ballard location will be its third permanent Seattle shop.
The bakery is known for French pastries including croissants and pain au chocolat, as well as breakfast sandwiches and freshly made sandwiches. Seattle Magazine named Petit Pierre the city’s best bakery in 2025.
The building at 2200 NW Market St. is owned by CKM Associates LLP and is also home to Smål Market, Secret Garden Books, and Ballard Health Club.
Chau said the bakery is excited to become part of the neighborhood.
“We have been around Ballard and love the neighborhood,” she said. “There are lots of families, it’s by the library, there are local shops, and it’s a great community to join.”
Photo: Google Image Capture