La Madeleine, the French-inspired bakery-café chain known for its buttery pastries and bistro classics, is finally putting down roots in Kansas City. The company has signed an area development agreement with local entrepreneur Eddie Musallet to open eight locations across the metro, marking the brand's first-ever entry into the Midwest.
The deal, announced in a news release and reported by restaurantnews.com, pairs La Madeleine with Musallet's Express Stop and The Musallet Group, which already runs grocery, convenience and franchised retail operations across the Kansas City area. Under the agreement, the chain plans to grow across both Kansas and Missouri, according to the same report.
Eddie Musallet said La Madeleine will bring a French-inspired menu, fresh bakery offerings and a welcoming café atmosphere to Kansas City, per FOX4KC. The cafés are expected to serve French-inspired breakfast, lunch and dinner selections alongside freshly baked breads and pastries, coffee and other beverages, restaurantnews.com reports.
A Timeline That Has Shifted
The first Kansas City-area café is expected to open in late fall 2027, according to restaurantnews.com's report on the new agreement. That marks a change from earlier expectations: a previous report from kansascity.com had suggested the first location could open as soon as early 2025. The newer timeline reflects the current agreement between La Madeleine and Musallet.
Typical La Madeleine cafés run 3,500 to 4,500 square feet and employ 25 to 30 workers, per that same kansascity.com report on the chain's earlier Kansas City plans.
Musallet's Growing Local Footprint
The Musallet Group's existing portfolio includes nine Mercado Fresco locations, and the company has a 65,000-square-foot Fresh Market location under development at 75th Street and Quivira Road, the restaurantnews.com report notes. The group also owns and operates market locations and two World Fresh Markets in Overland Park and the Kansas City Northland, according to FOX4KC's reporting.
A French Bakery Chain on the Move
La Madeleine has operated since 1983 and now counts nearly 90 corporate and franchise locations, per restaurantnews.com and the D Magazine profile; a September 29, 2026, Kansas City Star report described the chain as having more than 80 locations across the South. The brand is owned by Groupe Le Duff, a privately held, family-owned company based in France, and is led by president and CEO John Dillon, according to that same D Magazine profile.
Dillon has set a goal of growing La Madeleine to 150 locations within five years, with the Midwest, Southeast, Atlantic region and Mountain West topping the list of priority markets, D Magazine reports. He has also pointed to Panera, Corner Bakery and Paris Baguette as competitors operating in the same category. Notably, Paris Baguette is separately looking to open its own downtown Kansas City location at 1360 Main Street, according to a report from kansascity.com.
La Madeleine has been pursuing similar multi-unit franchise deals elsewhere. In Texas, the chain signed an agreement with SM Franchise LLC to develop two locations in College Station and a third in Houston, as reported by theeagle.com. Franchise owner Sultan Mahmood had targeted opening his first College Station café by the end of 2025, with a second College Station location and a Houston-area café to follow in 2026, according to kbtx.com. Specific sites for those Texas locations had not been announced at the time of that report.
No specific addresses or municipalities have been named for the eight planned Kansas City-area cafés, and details on construction timelines, permitting or financing for the local project have not been released.
