Tous les Jours opens first Long Island location, in Great Neck

Hot on the heels of Paris Baguette in Garden City, another Korea-based French-style bakery chain has established a beachhead on Long Island. Tous les Jours opened in Great Neck late last month, serving a wide range of cakes, breads and pastries, as well as premade sandwiches and salads.

Founded in 1996, Tous les Jours operates more than 80 stores in the U.S. and over 1,650 bakeries around the world.

Cindy Li, who owns the Great Neck location with Yi Chen and Yao Chen, said this was her first experience with bakeries, although her family runs a few Japanese restaurants in Manhattan. The products at Tous les Jours are made every day (”tous les jours”) with a combination of fresh and frozen elements (all supplied by the franchiser). Li spent a few weeks in Los Angeles learning how to produce everything from ham-and-cheese croissants to “sweet frank rolls” wherein a hot dog enveloped in sweet dough is topped with cheese and zucchini slices before being baked to golden brown. “They taught us all about fermentation and mixing. It turned out I was a fast learner,” she said.

Breads and pastries are displayed in self-service cabinets. Alongside the croissants, danish, brioche, doughnuts, macarons and scones are less familiar confections such as purple sweet potato loaf, red-bean buns, soboro (Korean streusel bread) and kimchi croquettes.

Cakes (whole and cut into pieces) are headlined by the signature “cloud cakes,” made of fluffy sponge and sweetened whipped cream and available flavored with chocolate, orange, mocha, Earl Grey tea and more. There are also American-style layer cakes, mousse cakes, tiramisu and kids’ cakes; and a full range of coffee and tea drinks. The dining room is bright and inviting. 

Tous les Jours is open daily from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. at 41 Great Neck Rd.; 516-570-6204, tljus.com.