A Different Kind of Bakery Just Opened in Portage

One of the more interesting new additions around town isn’t a chain restaurant or big-box store.

It’s a bakery.

Tous Les Jours recently opened on South Westnedge in Portage, bringing French-Asian pastries, coffee drinks, and a completely different style of bakery experience to West Michigan.

And if you’ve driven by lately, you’ve probably noticed:
The place has been packed.

What makes the story especially interesting is that the owner is a Portage Northern graduate and Western Michigan University alum who decided to bring the concept back to his hometown after discovering it in Chicago.

In a time when so many local stories revolve around closures or national chains, this feels different — a younger entrepreneur betting on Portage and introducing something the area really hasn’t had before.

The bakery specializes in lighter pastries, specialty breads, cakes, and coffee drinks that blend Korean and French baking influences. It’s the kind of place that feels more like something you’d stumble across in Chicago or Ann Arbor than on Westnedge Avenue.

And judging by the crowds, Southwest Michigan was ready for it.

What’s interesting is that this may also say something about where local tastes are heading. People increasingly seem to want unique local experiences instead of just “another fast food option.”

That shift could be changing the local business scene faster than many realize.