Restaurant look: Fort Myers coffee shop and bakery marks 10 years

Step into the courtyard behind Mon Paris Coffee Shop and Bakery in Fort Myers and if feels almost as if you’ve been transported to a side street in a European village. That feel was one of the things that attracted Andreas Maier to the shop in Reflection Lakes Commons on Cypress Lake Drive.

He and wife Katharina liked it so much that they bought it and relocated their family from Stuttgart, Germany, in 2021.

The Maiers had vacationed in Southwest Florida and even bought a home in Cape Coral. But things shifted in 2018. “It was May. May, and I was still in a bomber jacket with a cap over my ears,” he remembered. “I went home and said we have to change this.”

The couple decided to purchase Mon Paris in 2019 but COVID travel restrictions kept them in Germany so they did not complete the deal. Two years later, the restaurant was on the market again and the Maier’s made their move.

April was their two-year anniversary at the 10-year-old bakery and coffee shop. Since taking over, Maier has added an in-house baker. Previously, pastries were outsourced. The change has enabled him to triple the number of items offered, while adding sweet treats from Germany and Italy to the predominantly French menu.

The cases are stocked with pretty pastries, cakes, buttery croissants, macarons, tarts, and a cream filled Bavarian that is Maier’s favorite. “Warm it up in the convection oven and people go crazy for it,’ he said. “My father always taught me, if you have a good dish, eat it warm.”

Mon Paris makes the full range of specialty coffees from decaf to breve to chai latte and everything in between. Mon Paris Iced Coffee is a signature. It has a double shot of espresso, French vanilla syrup, milk, whipped cream, and instead of ice, it has three small scoops of vanilla ice cream.

Breakfast is served all day and includes traditional American fare such as eggs and bacon. Croissants can be filled with both, along with a variety of cheese. So can the crepes. The crepe mix is slightly sweet, ideal for the fruits and chocolate spreads they are often filled with.

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Quiche is made whole and cut into quarters to consume in the café or take home. Beside the standard Florentine and Lorraine, Mon Paris also makes lox quiche with onions capers cream cheese and the star of the show, smoked salmon.

For lunch, house-baked banquettes are sliced in half lengthwise and layered with meats, cheeses and spreads.

Maier has slowly been adding more German dishes to the lunch menu and says regulars are not just catching on but wanting more.

Leberkaee semmel is a Bavarian meat served on ciabatta with mustard. Sour herring comes on sourdough bread. There are Bavarian white sausages, goulash soup and warm potato salad that has become extremely popular.

Sometimes, his 86-year-old grandfather helps make the schnitzel which is served open-faced as well as in sandwiches. Other times, he can be found busing tables. Maier’s 10-year-old son Sasha often helps as well. On weekends, he pitches in to deliver food when the kitchen gets backed up.

In Germany, Maier was an entrepreneur and a craftsman. He painted the murals that cover the cozy coffee shop. He also owned a hotel so is no stranger to the hospitality industry. But feeding people in Southwest Florida is a little different.

“I never had friends in Germany like I have here,” he said as traces of emotion came through his strong German accent. “I love the sun, I love the flowers that bloom all year, but I love my friends here.”

Although there is a “dinner” section on Mon Paris’ menu, dinner service has not been added yet.

Gina Birch writes about food, wine and spirits for The News-Press and at thebirchbeat.blogspot.com. Follow her as @ginabirch on Twitter and find her on Facebook. 

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Restaurant serves up crepes, coffee & more for 10 years in Fort Myers