Cafe owner Frederic Laski was familiar with the Century City office tower in Los Angeles before he ever signed a lease there.
Like a lot of people who grew up watching Hollywood movies from far away, he knew it as the glassy office building from "Die Hard" — or "Piege de Cristal" as it was known in his native France.
Now the cofounder of Chaumont Bakery & Café is serving croissants, burgers, burritos and espresso drinks inside the Irvine Co.-owned 2121 Avenue of the Stars, where the Los Angeles bakery opened its fifth and largest location this year.
“If you would have told me 20 years ago I would be in LA, in that building, having that business, I would have said no way," Laski told CoStar News.
The 5,000-square-foot location gives Chaumont something its smaller office cafe at Irvine Co.’s Westwood Gateway about 3 miles away does not have: a full-service kitchen. That lets the bakery expand beyond pastries and coffee into a broader breakfast and lunch business built around the daily routines of office workers.
For brokers and landlords hunting for tenants, the lesson is not just that French pastries can help animate an office lobby. Restaurants and other amenities — from speakeasies to high-end gyms — are now part of the leasing strategy itself, in some cases helping buildings compete in a slower market, according to Roger DeWames, president of Irvine Company Office.
“Exceptional food and coffee are integral to the workplace experience and contribute to the office being a destination that helps our customers attract and retain top talent,” DeWames said. “The addition of Chaumont Bakery & Café reflects the premium standard of the building and helps to drive leasing activity from companies seeking this type of environment.”
For Chaumont, Irvine Co.’s support means Laski is not spending time worrying about plants, janitorial work, hood systems, grease trap maintenance, parking logistics and other details that can consume restaurant operators in older buildings or traditional retail spaces.
"I can focus on the food itself," Laski said. "I don't have to worry about all the noise."
Office tenant strategy
Chaumont was founded in 2012 by Laski and Laila Abddaim, after the couple moved to Los Angeles and opened their first Beverly Hills bakery. The name comes from Parc des Buttes-Chaumont in Paris, where Laski’s parents met.
Laski’s own path to pastry was not linear. He was born in France, spent years in Moscow and Warsaw, earned a computer engineering degree and worked a corporate job at Danone before leaving to attend baking school.
“My go-to, regardless if it was in France or here, was my quadruple espresso and my chocolate croissant,” Laski said.
Laski said visits to Los Angeles to see his brother, drawn by the food scene, weather and lifestyle, ultimately pushed him to leave his corporate job and start a bakery there.
Chaumont got its start in 2013 and now includes cafes in Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Westwood and Century City, along with a commissary kitchen on Venice Boulevard that supplies pastries to roughly 60 to 70 wholesale customers from Santa Barbara to Orange County, with San Diego planned next.
At 2121 Avenue of the Stars, the business is learning a different rhythm. Beverly Hills customers may buy boxes of pastries to bring home, while Century City workers are more likely to stop in several times a week for lunch, coffee after the gym or rotating specials.
“I don’t want them to get bored,” Laski said.
DeWames said that kind of repeat office traffic is exactly what Irvine Co. looks for when curating restaurants across its portfolio. Rather than relying only on national chains, the landlord increasingly prioritizes local operators that help create a distinct identity for each workplace.
“Across our portfolio, we are strategic about curating dining experiences that feel authentic to each workplace and the customers it serves,” DeWames said. “That often means looking for distinctive local and smaller operators who bring quality, character and a true sense of place. Chaumont, as a respected independent brand known for its French-inspired products, exemplifies this approach, offering a premium amenity that elevates the daily experience.”
The office location also solves one of the most practical Los Angeles retail problems: parking. Laski said customers at his Beverly Hills location regularly praise the food and then complain that parking costs $9. At 2121 Avenue of the Stars, he said, customers can get an hour of validated parking, buy pastries or lunch and leave without circling for a street spot.
“It’s going to be a game changer,” he said.
The office building is roughly 88% leased with tenants including CoStar Group, law firm Katten and entertainment giant Fox Corp.
Bringing awareness
Bringing in brands like Chaumont is part of a broader strategy to make office campuses feel more connected to the neighborhoods around them while giving tenants amenities employees actually use throughout the day, DeWames said.
It's a strategy being implemented at high-end offices near and far. Boston Properties is adding a dose of energy to its Colorado Center office campus with Bower Santa Monica, a 6,500-square-foot, all-day café and neighborhood hub blending Aussie cafe culture, California coastal cuisine and wellness-minded vibes, set to open this summer.
Meanwhile, Blackstone is adding a new dining concept from French chef and TV personality Cyril Lignac to one of its office towers in New York City.
“The right restaurant operator helps create a sense of community and builds a relationship with our office customers and the surrounding area," DeWames said. "We actively support our partners to help ensure their success, reinforcing the premium environments that attract leading companies to our workplaces.”
That is part of why Laski sees more potential in office-based locations and wholesale growth than in simply opening more traditional cafes. Century City also fits neatly into Chaumont’s West Side map, sitting between its Westwood and Beverly Hills locations.
“When we saw that space, it was the perfect continuity of our expansion phase,” Laski said.
The location is still evolving. Chaumont has started delivery through Uber Eats and Postmates, is working on an online catering system for building tenants and is considering weekend hours once more people realize the bakery is open to the public.
“We have the product, we have the spot,” Laski said. “It’s just a matter of making people aware that we’re here.”