Client: Au Bon Pain

FOOTAGE OF CUSTOMERS IN AU BON PAIN

NARRATOR: Do you remember the very first time you walked into an Au Bon Pain?

OPEN SOUND TO CUSTOMERS IN AN AU BON PAIN

NARRATOR: Do you remember the smell, of steaming hot coffee and fresh-baked croissants?

The feel, of a sophisticated European cafe?

And the taste, of baked perfection still warm from the oven.

MCU OF MUFFINS OR MACAROONS COMING FROM OVER, OPEN SOUND

NARRATOR: If you're like me, you remember the first time you walked into an Au Bon Pain...and remember saying to yourself, "Why didn't someone think of this before?"

EMPLOYEE ON CAMERA GIVING CHANGE TO CUSTOMER: "Thank you very much, and have a nice day. Can I help the next person in line?"

ARCHIVAL MATERIAL FROM SCRAPBOOK

NARRATOR: The simple truth is, when Au Bon Pain was created in 1981, Americans who wanted to enjoy quality, fresh-baked goods in a cafe setting didn't have many choices.

Oh, we knew fast foods well enough. But fresh-baked croissant? A European sensibility? A refuge, where you could relax, and indulge the tastes of an adult?

Now that, was a new concept...but a concept so right that within a few years Au Bon Pain was growing its sales by 40% a year...and opening a new shop every three months.

In the decade that followed, Au Bon Pain completely redefined the concept of a French bakery cafe...expanding beyond its Boston base to New York, and Philadelphia...Washington, D.C and Chicago...

opening shops in airports...broadening their product line to include muffins, and sandwiches...a decade of growth and expansion,

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