Michette, the French bakery that got its start as a tiny storefront on Broadway in East Somerville, opened its second and largest location yet in Cambridge's Inman Square on Tuesday morning. The new café at 305 Webster Avenue welcomed guests from 8 am to 2 pm, marking a milestone for a business that began as a micro-bakery just three years ago.
The Cambridge expansion comes on the heels of national recognition: Michette was named among the top 14 French bakeries in America, according to Boston Uncovered. That ranking was published in May by digital culinary outlet Tasting Table, as reported by Secret Miami. The honor adds to a growing list of accolades for founder Thomas Ferté, who was recognized as a 2024 StarChefs Boston Rising Stars Award winner for his bread-making technique and business growth, per StarChefs.
From Corporate Law to the Bread Oven
Ferté's path to French baking wasn't exactly conventional. He worked as a corporate finance lawyer in New York City before leaving that career behind to attend baking school in Aurillac, France, and train at several Parisian bakeries, according to the same StarChefs profile. Before settling in Somerville, he picked up high-volume production and management experience at notable Paris establishments including Le Boulanger de la Tour, Ten Belles, and the bakery inside department store Le Bon Marché.
That European training shows up in Michette's lineup of baguettes, croissants, and cookies, per Boston Uncovered's reporting on the opening. The bakery is particularly known for its buckwheat chocolate chunk cookies, a detail the outlet highlighted alongside the new café's full-service beverage menu of coffee and lattes.
A Bigger Space, With Room to Sit and Stay
Unlike the original 164 Broadway bakery in Somerville, the new Inman Square location was built with actual seating in mind. The café includes green marble bistro tables, window nooks, and a bathroom, all according to Boston Uncovered's account of the opening. It also sells branded merchandise, including crew socks, totes, water bottles, and t-shirts.
The menu itself retains the playful twist that's defined Michette since its early days. Alongside classic baguettes and viennoiserie, the bakery serves items like spanakopita croissants, guava rolls with ricotta and cream cheese, and vegan options, as detailed by StarChefs. Michette also supplies pastries to Gracenote in the Leather District and New Leaf Espresso, per Boston Uncovered, extending its reach well beyond its own storefronts.
Roots in Somerville, Eyes on Cambridge
Michette, founded in 2022 according to StarChefs, opened its first brick-and-mortar bakery on Broadway in East Somerville on June 9, 2023. The company has stayed closely tied to that neighborhood since, participating in East Somerville Main Streets' August 2024 Foodie Crawl, an event that raises funds for small business development and showcases neighborhood eateries, the Somerville Times reported.
Plans for the Cambridge expansion first surfaced publicly in October 2025, following community communications from a Somerville city councilor, according to Boston Restaurant Talk. A full year passed between that initial reveal and Tuesday's opening, reflecting the kind of buildup locals had come to expect for a bakery already drawing citywide attention.
The new café sits roughly one mile from the Charles River, in a stretch of Inman Square known for long-standing food destinations like Puritan & Company and Christina's Homemade Ice Cream, according to Instagram posts documenting the opening. It's a dining corridor that's become something of a proving ground for ambitious small businesses, and Michette's arrival adds another name to that list.
Part of a Bigger French Bakery Wave
Michette's move also fits a broader pattern playing out across Cambridge and Somerville, where artisanal French bakeries have been steadily multiplying. PRB Boulangerie opened a Kendall Square location in October 2023, part of the same citywide trend toward high-end European cafés. For a bakery that started with pop-ups and a single storefront, Michette's new Inman Square address signals just how far the concept has traveled in three years.
