The name is the first clue that the gleaming bakery in north Atlanta is going to be something special.
Joli Kobe Bakery: "Joli," as in the French for "pretty," and "Kobe" for the Japanese city from which the store's owner hails.
After starting the successful Kobe Steaks in 1975, Katsuhiko "Vic" Watanabe wanted a French-Japanese bakery like the ones in Tokyo and in other major U.S. cities, he says. French pastry and bread shops are hugely popular in Japan, he says. "It's a real cultural mix, and we wanted to bring it here."