This article was published in Newsday and written by Melissa Azofeifa.
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Prepare to embrace la vie en rose (“life in pink”) with the opening of Ronkonkoma’s The French Workshop.
The French-inspired bakery has opened within an elegant 3,700-square-foot standalone building at Station Yards. The French Workshop is currently operating from noon to 9 p.m. as a soft opening and will have a grand opening Tuesday.
The opening marks a few firsts for the company: their first franchise outpost and the brand’s first Suffolk County location. James Bonanno of Upstream Hospitality Group is the franchisee. Upstream Hospitality operates nine Tap Room outposts across Long Island and Bango, the fast-casual chain of make-your-own bowls and salads.
“I believe The French Workshop is going to be a national brand that’s going to be all across the country.” Bonanno said. “It’s exciting being their first [franchisee], exciting to work with them. They’re a great team, they’ve been a tremendous support.”
The French Workshop was founded in Bayside, Queens, in 2015 and has expanded to have five locations across Long Island and New York City. Other Long Island locations include Wantagh, Plainview and Garden City.
The new space includes a 44-seat patio for outdoor dining which transports guests to a picturesque Parisian cafe. The interior decor feels luxurious and elevated, a highlight being their signature open kitchen where guests can see pastry chefs making the sweet treats displayed in the cafe.
The menu includes sweet and savory options such as the turkey club ($11.95) made with honey turkey, bacon, swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise. There is also smoked salmon ($12.95) made with salmon, arugula, tomato, cucumber and scallion cream cheese. There’s also an assortment of pastries and colorful macarons with flavors such Earl Grey, raspberry, Nutella and lavender.
For drinks, there’s the café au lait ($4.95 for a large), London Fog ($4.25 for a large) hot ($4.95 for a large)chocolate or iced ($5.10 for a large) and lemonades with flavors ranging from lavender, mango and watermelon ($4.50 for a large).