The Magic Behind L'Appartement 4F
An interview with Ashley Coiffard, co-owner and co-creator of L'Appartement 4F.
Make Yourself at Home is a series of conversations with the people behind your favorite food, drinks, movements and destinations — the experts who have mastered the art of making you feel like you’re right where you belong.
L'Appartement 4F started as a fun project at home and in less than three years, it grew into a beloved bakery with locations in Brooklyn Heights and the West Village. Quickly becoming a celebrated fixture in New York, 4F was founded by a Brooklyn-based couple — Gautier Coiffard (a former software engineer) and Ashley Coiffard (who was a school nurse) — representing the best of New York’s food scene and entrepreneurial spirit. And while the bakery is known for its viral croissant cereal and L’Apéro, the romantic wine bar it transforms into at night, the magic goes far beyond that.
I talked to Ashley about the journey from baking in an apartment to owning two storefronts, the bakery’s production schedule and what made 4F an instant hit.
The bakery’s origin story: We loved hosting and baking for our friends, and after seeing their reactions to Gautier's baked goods, we knew he had something special to share. After visiting France multiple times and being able to have a delicious croissant at every corner, we decided that New York could potentially have one more "bakery" even if it meant selling out of our tiny apartment. We also listened to a podcast during our time in the French countryside about how Tate's built their empire from a small Southampton bakery, which inspired us to start selling locally.
Gautier was a software engineer and I was a school nurse with previous experience managing a boutique in the Hamptons. Gautier "engineered" his perfect croissant using computer programs, math and science, and I used my retail experience to build a community and "sell" his creations on social media. We started the brand as a creative and fun outlet, not really expecting it to go anywhere.
Typical production schedule: With two separate locations and a commissary kitchen, there is no typical day for either of us. Gautier is in charge of all of the logistical aspects of the bakery including the baking schedule, maintaining quality but also overseeing payroll and paperwork. Each day, he can start somewhere different and end at a different location. I like to start my mornings with Pilates and will meet with Audrey, our brand manager. We usually catch up on emails, plan events, meet with different brands and create content but each day looks different.
A little secret: Gautier likes to add a lot of butter, more than a classic croissant would call for. It does make it more difficult to prepare, but he likes them to have a very buttery taste.
Becoming a Brooklyn Heights staple: Brooklyn Heights is very special to us. The community reached out to us to see if we were interested in opening our first location. At the time, we decided together that this was the next step so it felt like a dream when we received that email from the Brooklyn Heights Association. We built the bakery with them so that bakery is very community-based. We have our local customers that come in the afternoons to avoid the lines and we know their names. We knew we wanted the West Village to be our second location from our apartment days.
When we were still selling from our apartment, we realized we had a big customer base in the West Village. That neighborhood loves food, and we felt like it was the natural next step. We were very nervous to see how we were going to be received, but the customers in Manhattan are just as lovely as the ones in Brooklyn. We feel very lucky to be in two iconic neighborhoods.
The future of bakeries in New York: I think the NYC bakery scene is going to continue to grow, and it makes me so excited. Paris has a bakery on almost every block, and I think NYC can afford to have more great bakeries. I love seeing people go on bakery crawls, and we are just happy to be a part of the conversation. I hope in the next few years, we will be churning out better croissants with the experience time will give us. We are still newcomers in the business, and we are so lucky that people have received us so well. We are focusing on improving our techniques and procedures before anything else, and it’s an exciting time.
Ashley and Gautier’s favorite bakeries: We love Radio Bakery and From Lucie. I love that they stay true to themselves and consistently produce quality products that are exciting. Radio does savory pastries like no one else. Lucie is a close friend of ours and I will always use that to my advantage because her cakes are the best I’ve ever had.
Inspiration from legacy bakeries: There are a few legacy bakeries that inspire us, one of them being Levain. I love that they were able to expand but keep each bakery feeling authentic and delicious. I think if you focus on the quality and what makes you great, you can continue to succeed because consistency and quality are the most important aspects of building hospitality. Branding can be fun and gimmicks can make you go viral, but that doesn’t have long lasting effects. If your product is good and remains good, people will come.
Thank you for being here and making yourself at home. 🥐
beautiful read! <3
This is such a lovely post. Must go to there this weekend (hopefully the line won't be too crazy!)