CULT-FAVORITE CREAM PUFF STORE OPENING IN KATY
A Japanese chain specializing in cream puffs is set to open its first Texas franchise at 23119 Colonial Parkway in Katy. At more than 1,600 square feet, Beard Papa’s also will be the company’s largest franchise in North America, according to the company.
The Katy outpost of Beard Papa’s will open at 10:30 a.m. on Aug. 18, dispensing a variety of cream puff pastries made fresh daily (baked, not fried) with varieties including vanilla and chocolate, matcha green tea, chocolate éclair, strawberry éclair, honey butter, s’mores, double chocolate cream, strawberry cream, caramel cream and mango cream. The menu also includes a classic Paris Brest pastry, mochi ice cream and mango dessert.
The company’s website gives a slightly absurd storybook account of how the company got started: “A long time ago, there was a small bakery in Osaka, Japan ... . ” And a head baker “who always wore a smile on his face and was called Beard Papa after his fluffy, white beard.”
We’ll spare you the rest of the story. But the site also states that as of April 2018 there are more than 400 Beard Papa stores around the world. Beard Papa’s, now based in California, entered the U.S. market in 1999.