Bakery scene heats up with local, global players Forge Bagel Co. nears opening day, Paris Baguette eyes 10 Manitoba shops in 4 years By: Gabrielle Piché Posted: 5:55 PM CDT Monday, Oct. 20, 2025 Last Modified: 9:35 AM CDT Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025 Updates

The images of bagels facing St. Anne’s Road aren’t real — but they’re a sign of what’s to come.

The Forge Bagel Co., which is setting up shop at 692 St. Anne’s Rd., has pictures of the distinctive circular bread rolls plastering its windows.

Meantime, as the family-run business prepares its goods — strawberry shortcake, pumpkin pie and french toast bagels are in the works — an international bakery with more than 4,000 locations is preparing its own Manitoba rollout.

Paris Baguette aims to launch 10 shops throughout Winnipeg and Brandon from 2027 to around 2030.

The Forge Bagel Co., on the other hand, has circled Nov. 15 as its opening date in Winnipeg.

“We call him the bagel alchemist,” said Rachelle Demetrioff, eyeing her father Glen inside their shop.

Glen started as a baking hobbyist — cinnamon buns, sourdough bread and bagels were on rotation. It was a pastime he leaned into after selling his family’s former software company, Rapid RTC, in 2021.

“Once we disbanded, we said, ‘Let’s get into something a little bit more passion play,’” said Glen, 56.

He created his own bagel recipe — one that “resonated” with the people he’d serve to, Glen said — but he sought to learn more about the food. He uses a method where dough is rolled into balls and poked and stretched repeatedly to form bagels.

It’s different than the folding used in Montreal- and New York-style bagels. The Demetrioffs advertise Forge bagels as “Polishire,” or similar to European products.

To hone in, Glen and Rachelle toured bagel shops overseas. They visited around 20 in Poland and the United Kingdom last year.

Most shop owners showed the Manitobans their production methods and answered questions. A couple toured the Demetrioffs around the facilities for 2.5 hours at a time, Rachelle said.

“Who does not love coffee and bagels?”

“A lot of them were surprised — they didn’t understand why we were from Canada and there,” Glen added. “Once we explained what we’re trying to do, it was quite a unique experience.”

They picked up some tips: for example, adding flavour to the dough instead of just on top, like infusing maple syrup and vanilla for a french toast bagel.

The Demetrioffs then travelled through Montreal, Los Angeles and New York to compare bagel types.

They returned home with a focus on St. Vital — an area lacking a local bagel shop, from their view. They began talks with the Sunrex apartment at 692 St. Anne’s Rd. around when the complex opened in March 2024, the property manager said.

“For us, it was finding somebody local, somebody who would fit into the area,” Jenny Craig said. “Who does not love coffee and bagels?”

It’s taken time to get things right, Glen said. His proofers came from France — much of the equipment has been specific to match his vision.

Meantime, the Demetrioffs have built anticipation online. They put a call for bagel taste testers and drew 1,000 volunteers. They’ll pick around 25 people.

The taste testers’ job — to decide half of the initial menu — starts in early November. Forge will regularly sell around six to eight bagel flavours; half of those will rotate out biweekly, allowing for new options, Rachelle said.

Glen trials new recipes. He’s also hired bakers and a Red Seal chef; there’s four staff and he expects to hire another four to six.

The crew makes “lifts,” or spreads like jams and those with cream cheese bases, to match the bagels they produce.

“We want this to be a place where people will bring visitors to Winnipeg,” Glen said. “We’re trying to bring that variability.”

Plain bagels and other standard favourite flavours will also be available. The Demetrioffs plan to operate Forge Bagel Co. on Tuesdays through Saturdays from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. or until they sell out the day’s run of product.

The “gold star” would be to produce around 700 bagels daily, Rachelle said.

Elsewhere, production of cakes, tarts, pastries and doughnuts is the wheelhouse of Paris Baguette, a rapidly expanding South Korean franchise.

The chain began in 1988, with an emphasis on French-inspired desserts. Pain au chocolat and croissant doughnuts are listed on its extensive menu.

Since arriving in North America in 2005, Paris Baguette has opened 262 locations within the continent. Another 500 are in development, said Nick Scaccio, chief development officer for North America.

The franchise entered Canada two years ago, via Toronto. It now counts 15 Canadian stores across Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia.

Manitoba, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are next on the company’s list.

“We’re in the process of identifying the right partners,” Scaccio said, adding he expects to sign one or two Manitoba franchisees.

“(There’s) a lot of different experiences under one roof,” Scaccio said. “All of our products — pastries and bread — are baked on premise.”

Most Paris Baguettes are designed with a 15- to 20-foot island loaded with pastries and breads, a cake preparation room that customers can see inside and a bakery.

Paris Baguette usually spans 3,000 square feet per location and staffs 30 to 40 people, Scaccio said. He’s expecting to sign a Manitoba franchisee in 2026.

He cited food quality and the company’s commitment to “modest” pricing as its ability to grow. Traffic and sales have steadily increased over the past 18 consecutive quarters, Scaccio said.

Paris Baguette is owned by SPC Group. The company opened its first store in Mongolia this week.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com