People from Millvale and beyond marked the end of an era in the borough Saturday when Jean-Marc Chatellier and his wife, Sandy, opened the doors of his French bakery to the public for the last time.
After large buys contributed to them quickly selling out on their penultimate day Friday morning, customers were limited to six pastries each on Saturday. Yet, instead of being open until 2 p.m. as scheduled, everything was gone before 11 a.m.
For those who left empty-handed Friday, Sandy had scribbled out vouchers so they could get in ahead of Saturday’s line. More than 80 took them.
Some were waiting as early as 5:30 a.m. Saturday, well ahead of the 8 a.m. opening. The line stretched down North Avenue from the storefront, around a corner and down Lincoln Avenue.
At one point in the morning, Cassandra Ruby of Reserve was at the end of the line on Lincoln.
“I’ve been coming for years and years and years,” she said. “All I wanted was a cake donut. All they had was croissants. I’ve been hooked ever since.”
She wasn’t concerned if Jean-Marc sold out before she could get into the shop.
“If I don’t get anything, at least I get to wish them good luck,” she said.
The customers were not there as early as Jean-Marc, who started his ovens at 1:45 a.m. to make his croissants and danishes. Breakfast pastries, Sandy said, are best eaten fresh on the day they’re made.
Since announcing they would be closing the shop that they opened in 1992, Sandy said the response has been unbelievable. They decided to close after not being able to find a viable buyer for years.
“If someone would have said it would be like that, I would not have believed them at all. It’s been overwhelming,” Sandy said. “As people keep saying, it’s bittersweet. I’m just so glad we made it this far.”
Jean-Marc, 64, the son of a bread baker from the village of Couffe in western France, came to the U.S. in 1983, making his way from Cape Cod to Los Angeles. It was in the City of Angels that he met Sandy, a native of Shaler, who talked him into coming home with her to pursue his dream of running his own bakery in a small town.
The couple raised two daughters in Shaler and are expecting their first grandchild.
Their daughters have their own careers, and Sandy said she talked them out of taking over the business because of how much work it is.
They once had employees, but everything changed after covid. They cut back their hours and have been running the shop themselves, just as they were doing Saturday, with Jean-Marc pulling the pastries each customer wanted from his display case and Sandy ringing them out.
Losing their employees turned out to be a blessing, Sandy said.
“We finish off the way we started, just the two of us,” she said.
But even when they were open only two days a week, Sandy said, Jean-Marc was still working every day.
“It’s a hard, physical job, more than people realize,” said Jackie Hildenbrand of Ross, who worked for Jean-Marc in the 1990s at the counter when she was in high school and college.
Jean-Marc made the wedding cake for Hildenbrand and her husband, Michael, who came with her Saturday. The response to the closing didn’t surprise her one bit.
“It’s authentic. It’s delicious,” she said. “He’s a bit of a character if you’re a regular.”
The aroma of pastries, along with smiles, laughs, memories and some tears, filled the storefront Saturday.
Miranda Pavelle of Millvale was among those who brought gifts for Jean-Marc and Sandy. She presented him with a painting, which she asked others waiting in line to sign. By the time she gave it to him, it was full of signatures and well-wishes.
Pavelle said Jean-Marc has known her since she was an infant.
“He’s a wonderful man and so important to the community,” she said. “He absolutely deserves this.”
Ethan Minogue of Millvale was among those who signed Pavelle’s painting. He had come by the shop Friday but didn’t have time to wait in line.
“It’s very nice seeing him get this much love,” he said. “Mostly, I’m here to shake his hand and wish him well on his next adventure.”
Minogue said his French teacher at Fox Chapel Area High School would sometimes bring pastries from the shop to class. Lately, he’s been coming in about once a month.
“I loved his opera cakes. I’m going to miss them so much,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve seen anything like the opera cake in Pittsburgh.”
Georgia Krastek of McCandless has been coming to the shop for 30 years. She used to get pastries from Jean-Marc and took them to Allegheny General Hospital, where she was a nurse.
“I’m happy for him, but sad for us,” she said.
During covid, Jean-Marc Chatellier’s French Bakery became a “reliable source of joy” for Jordan Weeks of Lawrenceville. Its closing, he said, is quite sad.
“I’m going to miss this place,” he said. “There are things you rely on being there knowing it’s probably going to end at some point — and sooner than you want it to be.”
Minogue said the loss will be felt by Millvale, which also recently lost the long-loved Hardee’s restaurant and The Grant Bar & Restaurant.
Diane Burgard of Richland, who used to live in Millvale, has known Jean-Marc since he opened the bakery. She says she used to come in all the time.
“It’s a special place that’s going to be missed. Jean-Marc is one of the best,” she said.
“This was a staple. Our staples are going.”