Co-owners and founders Johann and Siliza Tremor of the French bakery Oui Oui Boulangerie are having a grand opening to celebrate their new brick-and-mortar location on Main Street in Chattanooga’s Southside district, this Tuesday, July 14th.
The grand opening will also fall on Bastille Day, France’s national holiday commemorating the storming of the Bastille in 1789. The opening is not only a celebration of the holiday and the shop, but it is also a celebration of the community, and many local officials and community leaders will be in attendance.
Expect a morning full of French pastries and baguettes, live music by DJ Mcpro, and complimentary hors d'oeuvres, leading into the afternoon, when there will be a storefront celebration by River City Company and a grand ribbon cutting at 11 a.m., powered by LAUNCH Chattanooga.
There will also be special Oui Oui Boulangerie and Bastille Day merchandise, alongside a brilliant art installation by Chattanooga artist and educator, Kris Bespalec, as part of her Sacred Bodies series, which explores material, presence, and memory.
In speaking with shop owner Johann Tremor about his life and what inspired him to bring an authentic French boulangerie to the Scenic City, he discussed starting to bake at an early age and spoke to the welcoming community of Chattanooga as a perfect place to raise his family while building a business from a dream.
“I started baking when I came to the U.S. from France in 2013. I knew I wanted to open a boulangerie to share my passion for French bread and offer people something different, like French ingredients along with artisanal baking methods. We chose Chattanooga for its welcoming community, rich history, beautiful views, and it being the perfect place to raise a family. My wife and I have three kids, and we knew Chattanooga would be a place to give them a good life while building our business.
The Southside felt right because it’s our neighborhood. Living on Main St. for three years, we love the vibe and walkability of the Southside. It’s a place where you can discover cool local businesses and run into your neighbors on a stroll. We wanted Oui Oui to be a part of that amazing community and be a place where locals and visitors can gather, eat delicious pastries, and engage in conversations about anything.”
While the official grand opening is set for Tuesday, the quaint bakery started serving Scenic City customers in February of this year. They have an incredible variety of French pastries, such as fresh baguettes, butter croissants, pain au chocolat, pain suisse, amazing seasonal fruit tarts, and even traditional French sandwiches like jambon-beurre.
In speaking to Johann about how he wants people to feel when leaving their grand opening, and what can be expected moving forward, he mentioned having a new menu with different offerings, and that he hopes folks leave feeling inspired.
“With our Grand Opening, we have a new menu that includes new lunch items like Quiche; everyone’s favorite almond croissant will now be offered daily, and we’ll be revealing our new dessert menu for Patisserie nights at Oui Oui, which will take place every Thursday night starting Aug 6th.
We’re also excited to share an exclusive and unique water menu to pair with our desserts. We hope people leave feeling inspired. We’re living our dream of being able to share our craft with people, and I want people to leave feeling like they can pursue whatever passion they may have.”
When discussing the impact the shop will and has had on the Southside community, Johann mentioned offering something different to the Southside, importing the finest French ingredients while also having a space that offers cool vintage and artwork, too.
“We hope that Oui Oui Boulangerie offers something different to the community and a new experience. We import French ingredients to make our bread and pastries and use very labor-intensive methods, so we hope people feel the passion in our offerings. Oui Oui is also a multi-hyphenate shop that includes Casa Cool vintage and artwork.
We love being a space within the intersection of food, art, and fashion. It’s an honor to become part of the neighborhood where we live. We are among amazing businesses, and it’s a dream to be included in the conversation when it comes to the Southside.”
Oui Oui Boulangerie has become increasingly popular since February, with lines forming before it even begins serving food. Known for its incredible hospitality and attention to detail, the shop has quickly become a crucial part of the city's growing culinary scene, adding foot traffic to the Southside and cultivating a shared sense of community around a niche culinary destination.
Johann, when asked about his plans for the next three to five years, discussed valuing quality over quantity, and that while they are happy being a small bakery, they do have plans to open a French Bistrot in Chattanooga and continue nurturing their monthly Supper Club dinner.
“In the next three to five years we hope to still be here doing what we love. As far as expanding, we’re quite happy being a small bakery. While our offerings may seem limited for some, we value quality over quantity. We want to keep perfecting what we do and bring the best handmade pastries and bread possible.
We want to keep growing and nurturing our Supper Club community, a monthly dinner we host for intimate dining and fun. We started Supper Club for fun, and we’re so overwhelmed with gratitude for how it’s continued to grow and sell out every month. We have a dream of opening a classic French Bistrot in Chattanooga, offering traditional French dishes and wines, which we're hoping to do by the end of this year.”
Oui Oui Boulangerie Grand Opening
- Tuesday, July 14. 7 a.m.-2 p.m.
- 338 Main St., Chattanooga.
- Free
- ouiouiboulangerie.com