Le Petit Paris has become a much bigger concept.
The cafe group owned by Alexander Chezaud opened Le Petit Atelier - French Marché at 363 Atlantic Blvd., Suites 2, 3 and 4, in Atlantic Beach. It is in the same center as one of Chezaud’s Le Petit Paris cafes.
Chezaud has opened four Le Petit Paris cafes since 2019 in Mandarin, Atlantic Beach, Southpoint and along Beach Boulevard near the Intracoastal Waterway. A Ponte Vedra Beach location is planned to open in April.
Le Petit Atelier opened Feb. 12 on the opposite end of the Shoppes of Northshore from the Atlantic Beach Le Petit Paris.
Chezaud explained that an atelier is a creative space for artists.
“They have a workshop and they gather. That’s where they do their work,” he said.
“They invite their songwriter friends and their writer friends or journalist friends. So it’s kind of like somewhere you mingle, talk and create.”
Le Petit Atelier provides a different customer experience as well as fulfilling Chezaud’s need to better operate his business.
The new restaurant has a large kitchen that serves as a commissary for his other restaurants. A team of five cooks, led by chef John Carroll, prepares items for the other restaurants and precooks some items for each cafe’s individual French-inspired menu.
Le Petit Atelier is 3,017 square feet and seats about 75, including 12 at the bar. The contractor was VJD Installation of Jacksonville. It cost $300,000 to build-out, which was about $100,000 over the preliminary budget.
“It’s always the price I estimate, plus 50%,” Chezaud said.
“I had in mind it would be a roughly around $200,000, and then I get carried away.”
Most of the Le Petit Paris locations are under 2,000 square feet. Southpoint is the exception with more than 4,000 square feet of inside and covered outdoor dining. It has a larger kitchen than the others.
Chezaud invites customers to come in before or after they head to another restaurant for dinner.
The Le Petit Atelier menu concentrates on small plates and wine or coffee. The menu will change every two months, Chezaud said.
The current menu includes stuffed dates, conch fritters, smoked duck wings, French onion boule and lollipop bacon. Prices are $14 to $18. Customers can build their own charcuterie board from $24 to $45 with three to seven items.
Wines sourced from around the world are $7 to $16 a glass, as well as bottles from $24 to $45. Cocktails are made with fortified wines since the restaurant does not have a liquor license. They are $11 to $14.
On warm evenings, tables are placed on the sidewalk outside the restaurant for alfresco dining.
The third part of Le Petit Atelier is the French Marché, a small gift shop featuring locally made food and gift items. It also has French cooking and entertaining merchandise and wine by the bottle.
Chezaud wants to add wine tastings and cooking classes as special events at Le Petit Atelier.
The restaurant is open 2-9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 2-7 p.m. Sunday. It is closed Monday.
Reservations are accepted for parties of eight or larger.
Because Le Petit Paris locations close at 4 or 5 p.m., current employees can pick up extra shifts at Le Petit Atelier. Unlike the other restaurants, which are fast-casual, Le Petit Atelier offers table service.
“Here, we have dedicated waiters who can talk about the different wines we have. Talk about our concept. Our chef loves walking around and talking to people, getting feedback on the food. So it’s a whole different kind of approach on our service,” Chezaud said.