A long-established European-style café offering a wide range of fresh-baked goods plans to open this spring in the heart of downtown New Canaan.
Patisserie Salzburg is on track to open in early May at 25 Elm St., according to co-owner Par Shakiban, who launched the business 26 years in Rye, N.Y. and has a second location in Stamford, where he lives.
“We are extremely optimistic and positive about the whole idea, because we have customers who come from New Canaan to Rye and Stamford and they have told us they wish we were in New Canaan,” Shakiban told NewCanaanite.com.
“I’ve always loved New Canaan. It’s a very beautiful town. The people are wonderful. It’s a very classy town. The neighborhood is very clean and a European-style bakery would add a touch of sophistication to the area.”
Shakiban owns Patisserie Salzburg with Albana Murati, also of Stamford.
The patisserie offers fresh-baked bread, Chocolate Ganache and other cakes, muffins, French macaroons and tarts, as well as soups, quiches, salads and sandwiches. Hot drinks include Illy-brand coffee, cappuccinos and hot chocolate made from imported Belgian chocolate.
“Patisserie Salzburg’s breads are made with flour imported from Germany, from traditional French baguettes to our rich, dense European Vollkornbrot,” according to the business’s website.
It adds: “Patisserie Salzburg offers a wide assortment of European-style pastries and cookies, incorporating a variety of French, German, and Austrian specialties, from kugelhopf to apple strudel.”
Though Elm Street has seen recent changes in cafés—with the closing of Gingerbitz two years ago, for example, and launch of Dolce last summer—it hasn’t had a dedicated standalone bakery offering as wide a selection as Patisserie Salzburg since Ritz operated in a space now occupied by Baldanza up the street.
Asked why they chose New Canaan, Shakiban said he and his partner are focusing on neighborhoods that appreciate “high-quality merchandise.”
“We were interested in the thought of being in Darien, but it just happened that the ideal space became available in New Canaan and it was very enticing,” he said.
Looking forward to having a bakery in town.
I used to get my baked desserts at Garelick and Herbs, but they too have gone. So, welcome “Patisserie Salzburg”! As soon as you open, I’ll be trying your chocolate gananche cake.😀
Can’t wait. Have wanted this for years. It was really missing in our wonderful village scene.
Dimitri, you would have enjoyed the Swiss Chalet. It was a New Canaan staple for many years on Elm Street. And who could forget the unmatched hard rolls of the Broad River Bakery, just down the road.
Dimitri, I agree with your post regarding both the Swiss Chalet (wonderful Coffee cakes and chocolate eclairs) and the Broad River bakery (great hard rolls and superb rye bread) My family would often go to this bakery just when the rye bread was coming out of the oven and take one home hot, slice it and watch the butter just melt into the bread. So delicious. Great memories from both businesses.
This sounds very promising! Good bakeries are a treasure and they have a record of success.
It is great to hear that a “real”pastry shop is finally coming back to town. The Suisse Chalet was pretty good, but they did not match St. Moritz on Greenwich Ave in Greenwich (have been there over 50 years) and Fininceer which has a branch in Grand Central Station ( on left as you go towards downtown subway). The grocery stores in town don’t even come close to playing in this game. Palmers in Rowayton does!
i also say welcome “Patisserie Salzburg”
A wonderful bakery is the only thing missing in our beautiful town! So excited for this!!