PONTE VEDRA BEACH | An authentic taste of France spiced with a dash of history on the side tops the menu, along with croissants, macarons, and quiche at a new Ponte Vedra Beach cafe.
Le Petit Paris opened its sixth cafe May 7 at 830 Florida A1A N., Suites 4-6, in Tournament Plaza retail center.
The new cafe comes four months after Le Petit Paris owner and founder Alex Chezaud, a French native and veteran restaurateur, launched Le Petit Atelier — a French tapas cafe — at 363 Atlantic Blvd., Suites 2-4, in the Shoppes of Northshore retail center in Atlantic Beach.
Its ambiance and decor pay homage to historic Versailles and Marie Antoinette, who was France’s glamorous and final queen before the French Revolution abolished the monarchy.
An authentic menu mirrors the tastes of France
Le Petit Paris is known for authentic, freshly made-from-scratch macarons, croissants, quiche, baguette sandwiches, tartines and salads.
Known for its brunch and lunch fare, the Ponte Vedra cafe offers the same seasonal-influenced menu as the other Le Petit Paris locations. But new offerings are in the works.
“The only thing we change at our locations is that all the cooks and the chefs have the liberty to bring in the seasonal menus, whether it’s a seasonal menu for food and also their own creation when it comes to drinks and things like that,” he said.
The fast-casual cafe also offers freshly roasted coffee, espresso, tea, sodas and fruit juices. Only French champagne and wines are served.
“We don’t have a signature dish from Versailles on the menu right now, but I’m working on it,” he said, noting that desserts were a favorite of Antoinette.
Among the classic desserts Versailles is known for is MontBlanc — named for the highest peak in the Alps. Resting on a foundation of meringue or sponge cake, the dessert is noodle-like strands of sweetened chestnut puree wrapped into a spiral similar to a mountain peak and topped with whipped cream.
Although it’s not yet on the menu, Chezaud said the famous dessert might be added in the future.
“I’m very excited to see what dishes the Ponte Vedra guests are into. Our best sellers are all different depending on the location. I’m pretty sure the pastries are going to be a big one,” Chezaud said.
Like the other Le Petit Paris cafes, the Ponte Vedra restaurant has a small retail market inside offering French wine, food, books and other items.
Bringing a little bit of France to Northeast Florida
Chezaud launched the original Le Petit Paris in 2019 at 9965 San Jose Blvd., Suite 46, at Merchant Walks in Mandarin. As its popularity grew, so did its footprint.
Two years later, he opened a second location at 363 Atlantic Blvd., Suite 13-14, at Shoppes of Northshore. The third opened in 2023 at 7111 Bentley Road, No. 1, in Bentley Pointe off JTB near Interstate 95 on the Southside.
In March 2025, Chezaud established the fourth at 14474 Beach Blvd. at the Publix-anchored Intracoastal Plaza shopping center. The Beach Boulevard location was the first Le Petit Paris with a drive-thru.
On Feb. 12, Le Petit Atelier opened just seven doors away from its sister restaurant — Le Petit Paris — at Shoppes of Northshore in Atlantic Beach.
Le Petit Atelier offers a rotating seasonal-inspired menu of fresh, scratch-made “small bites” as well as an international wine selection and a small indoor retail market.
Adjacent to the atelier is a new commissary kitchen that serves all Le Petit Paris restaurants, as well as handles the increasing number of catering requests.
A homage to Marie Antoinette and historic Versailles
Each Le Petit Paris cafe identifies with different French regions, history and culture.
The Mandarin cafe reflects an urban Parisian bistro. Atlantic Beach is modeled after the South of France. The Southside restaurant is more like Normandy. Art Deco is featured at the San Pablo location. Le Petit Atelier evokes the ambiance of a creative workshop or studio and gathering place where painters create their art, and meet with their writer and songwriter friends.
The centerpiece of the Ponte Vedra cafe is an elegant crystal chandelier, which looks like it could have hung in one of Versailles’s castles.
Each Le Petit Paris has a signature chandelier serving as a welcoming beacon, establishing a sense of time and place.
“They’re all different. The chandeliers are a signature that characterizes each location and becomes their logo,” said Chezaud, noting it took several months to get the right one for the Ponte Vedra cafe. It then took a day and a half to assemble it.
His wife, Yevah Chezaud, sets the decor of each restaurant. In addition to the chandelier, the Ponte Vedra cafe has pastel blue and pink walls, ornate molding and portraits of Antoinette as well as other French aristocrats.
‘A twist of fate’: Customer requests bring cafe to Ponte Vedra
Chezaud described bringing the Jacksonville-based cafe to Ponte Vedra as “a twist of fate or fortunate coincidence” set in motion seven years ago when they opened the original in Mandarin.
“When we opened our first one and still didn’t know if we were going to make it, people were trying to bring us to Ponte Vedra,” he said of the customer support that continued to grow over the years despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
“But just being able to be here now, finding this space that checked all the boxes … It was meant to be,” he said. “It’s kind of bringing us back to our first years. We are so excited and so grateful for the support we got from all the people.”
At roughly 2,875 square feet, the Ponte Vedra restaurant is the second-largest of the Le Petit Paris cafes. It has about 80 seats inside, plus another 18 outside.
The cafe took over and renovated two adjacent spaces vacated by Larry’s Giant Subs and Beach Total Massage.
Chezaud previously told the Times-Union that the combined buildout and equipment cost of the Ponte Vedra restaurant totals about “half a million dollars.” The interior buildout alone was estimated at $125,000, according to a March 12 St. Johns County building permit.
At Tournament Plaza, the cafe joins other restaurants, including Jersey Mike’s Subs, Tropical Smoothie, Millie’s Homemade Ice Cream and Poppy’s Italiano, according to a real estate flyer for the Sleiman-owned retail center.
The cafe with 80 seats, plus 14 on the outdoor patio, is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Teresa Stepzinski is the dining reporter for the Times-Union. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @TeresaStepz or reach her via email at tstepzinski@jacksonville.com.
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This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Macarons and Marie Antoinette: French cafe opens in Ponte Vedra
Reporting by Teresa Stepzinski, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
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