If the great macaron craze of 2010 had a global epicenter, it was, without question, Ladurée. Now, at long last, Ladurée is opening their first Los Angeles shop.
The Rococo-styled Paris bakery was founded in 1871 and was plying the colorful little cookies for generations, long before macarons became for the Gossip Girl generation what cupcakes had been to the era of Sex and the City.
The fact that you could only get the treasured little aqua-and-gold boxes while actually in Paris made the brand all the more alluring and, while more and more domestic macaron bakers hit the scene, Ladurée remained the grande dame. Starting in 2012, the brand began opening international franchises, from Australia to Qatar, including US locations in New York City and Miami. Next on the list, as Eater LA reports, is the Grove.
Signage has gone up stating that a store and restaurant (the patisserie also offers a tea room style café in some locations) will be ‘opening soon’ but the date remains unclear. When they do open, what are sure to be terribly dainty, curlicue-bedecked doors, expect to wait in line to get your hands on the macarons, madeleines and other treats. When the first New York location opened, typical wait times ran about 45 minutes, according to a report by Serious Eats.
For those less interested in waiting in lines just for the Laudrée brand name, it’s worth noting that Bottega Louie clearly learned a lot of their styling tricks from Ladurée, right down to the look of their pretty pastel boxes—and they’re just one of the many perfectly worthy macaron options currently out there in LA.
Of course, if you just must have that iconic Blair Waldorf bubble bath snack, get ready to make another shopping trip to the Grove (as if you weren’t already there enough anyway).