New Bakery-Cafe Chain La PanotiQ to Sweep Bay Area

French-inspired bakery-cafes have been a popular addition to nearly every SF neighborhood over the past few years, and this year, a fledgling chain of them is planning to aggressively expand across the Bay Area. La PanotiQ is the brainchild of the Guterman family: father Mikhail and his wife Natalya are the founders and proprietors, while their daughter Maria serves as CEO. The cafe gets its name from the French term for a library of panoramas (so don't go calling it "Panoti-cue"), and was inspired by the Gutermans' travels through France, where they fell hard for the little boulangeries and cafes that dot the streets.

Megan Gaffney, who oversaw and trained managers for the SF locations of Patxi's, is bringing her restaurant expertise to the project as general manager, and she's already secured two locations: one in Campbell (195 E. Campbell Ave.), which will be the chain's first location, as well as the former E'Angelo space on Chestnut Street in the Marina, which will be its second.

The plan is for each La PanotiQ location to house an on-site bakery, which will turn out a wide variety of breads (baguettes, pain aux cereales), viennoiserie (croissants, raisin swirls), beignets, and housemade waffles in the morning, served with Oakland-roasted Bicycle coffee. At lunch, the menu will include quiches, panini, salads, and soups. The shops will stay open into the evening, serving heartier fare like seafood dishes and potentially pastas as well. A case of high-end patisserie desserts will be offered throughout the day, with eclairs, tartes, tortes, macaroons, and other treats. Everything will be made on premises with all-natural ingredients, organic dairy, French butter, and nitrate-free meats. While not all locations will serve beer and wine, the Marina location is holding onto E'Angelo's license, and plans to offer a mix of French and American wines, as well as local beers.

All the locations will be designed by Nina Sobinina, and will incorporate a glamorous French feel with glass display cases, globe-shaped chandeliers, and large tufted chairs. The Marina shop will seat approximately 32 patrons, and will offer free wi-fi and a handful of outdoor tables in front. "We're aggressively targeting locations with high foot traffic," says Gaffney, who's already lined up third and fourth outlets in Mountain View and Livermore, and says she's also seeking more locations in SF proper. Other targets include College Ave. in Berkeley, University Ave. in Palo Alto, Burlingame, Menlo Park, Los Altos, and eventually, an expansion to Los Angeles. The Campbell location is set to arrive in mid-May; the Marina location should follow in June, permits willing.

· E'Angelo Shutters on Chestnut Street [~ ESF ~]