Get used to hearing this name, foodies: Paris Baguette.

The chain of French-style South Korean bakeries and cafes might be familiar to you if you’ve spent time carbo-loading in New York or New Jersey lately. There are dozens of locations between the two states already, and it is one of the fastest-growing bakery franchises in the U.S.

But there were none in Baltimore County until about 10 days ago, when a branch in Towson opened at 4 E. Towsontown Blvd. Franchisee Raj Pingili, who lives in Howard County, said he was first introduced to the brand while traveling with his children in New York. The kids were big fans of the crookie, the company’s cross between a croissant and a cookie.

Customers to Paris Baguette can choose from an eye-popping assortment of croissants, tarts, mochi doughnuts and cakes as well as grab-and-go sandwiches and coffee drinks. Most of the pastries are behind glass, and guests select their own using tongs.

New menu items are introduced throughout the year, like last week’s launch of a Dubai chocolate product line that includes a tart, mochi donut and matcha latte. The dining area features a French-inspired cafe setting with tiled floors and a window into a cake-decorating studio.

Following a grand opening this month, Pingili said Towson’s Paris Baguette is off to “a good start” and saw 600 transactions during its first weekend. With students from nearby Towson University off for the summer, Pingili said he’ll take time to get his staff of 42 people completely trained in preparation for a spike in customers when school starts in the fall. Staff already come in at 1 a.m. to get ready for the early-morning rush.

His kids are happy with the store, which Pingili says is larger than many of the shops they visited in New York. “My daughter was saying, ‘I think your hard work is paying off,’” he said. “That was nice to hear.”

In addition to the store in Towson, Pingili, who also owns a specialty pharmacy in Howard County, said he plans to bring another four or five branches to Maryland. At least one more is planned for Owings Mills, according to developers, though Pingili said he is not involved with that project.

Paris Baguette plans to have 1,000 stores in the country by 2030. To aid its expansion, SPC Group, the parent company of Paris Baguette, is building a $160 million, 260,000 square-food factory in Burleson, Texas that will service its locations in the U.S. and eventually in Latin America. Dough for the U.S. outlets is currently imported from China and Korea.

Despite its rapid-fire growth, the company has occasionally come under fire for its labor practices, including a boycott in Korea in 2022 after the death of a factory worker. The following year, New York officials found the company in violation of local labor protections.