Marc Heu Café to debut at Alliance Française, blending French and Hmong culinary traditions

His father fell in love with French cuisine, while his mother remained rooted in Hmong traditions through meals centered on rice and meat. As a Paris-trained pastry chef, Heu now infuses passionfruit, lychee and yuzu into decadent French tarts, cream puffs and cakes.

So when Alliance Française Mpls/St. Paul approached him and his wife, Gaosong, about transforming the organization’s cafe space into Marc Heu Café, it was a “no-brainer,” he said. 

It will be the third location for Marc Heu Patisserie Paris and the couple’s first cafe concept. The couple will participate in a Bastille Day celebration on Tuesday, July 14; the cafe’s official opening date and hours will be announced later this summer. 

The cafe menu will include croissants, viennoiserie, espresso drinks, brewed coffee, matcha and savory options.

“You can’t be a patisserie if you don’t sell cakes,” said Gaosong Heu, the business’ co-owner and CEO. “We’re not going to sell cakes at this location, that’s the reason why we’re focusing more on the café model.”

For Marc and Gaosong Heu, the expansion represents more than business growth. When they opened their first location in 2019, they were young, had limited experience and started with just $200 during the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic. It started as a small business in Gaosong’s parents’ basement in Oakdale where people would pick up cakes.

Gaosong Heu said they chose Minnesota to start their business because of the Hmong and arts community, which connected to her background. She said they had many opportunities to start in Paris, French Guiana, and New York, but none of them felt like it resonated with them.

“Marc and I both instinctively knew that there was something really magical about Minnesota, and that if we were going to start a business, we had to start it here,” Heu said.

Heu said the Minnesota community showed up for them in ways she never expected, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. One moment that stood out came after the murder of George Floyd, when unrest spread along University Avenue, where their bakery is located. Fearing the business would be damaged, the couple prepared for the worst. 

Instead, a community member placed a sign outside the bakery as BIPOC-owned and asked people not to harm it. While nearby buildings were vandalized, the bakery was spared. Even through the pandemic and Operation Metro Surge, Heu said she wasn’t sure the business would survive, calling it one of the biggest challenges they faced. 

“When people see the business, because the brand is so big because we do so much marketing, people have a perception about who we are and what we do,” Heu said. “But the reality is that we’re a small business. We show up every day and work.”

Chef and co-owner Marc Heu said in his experience, people in the United States are more likely to celebrate and support others’ success, while in France, he said, people can be more hesitant to do so. 

He said it was the support of the Minnesota community that helped them grow and embrace his vision for the bakery.

“When you have a community like the one here in Minnesota, anything is possible,” Heu said. “People come together to support others and that’s just mind-blowing.”

Growing up in French Guiana, Heu dreamed of becoming a pastry chef, but he struggled to picture himself in the profession because he rarely saw anyone who looked like him. After moving to the United States and meeting Gaosong, he said she gave him the confidence to pursue that dream.

“We have always been big dreamers. We’re not afraid of the work and if it’s the right fit, we’ll make it happen,” Heu said.

While building the business, Heu said their roles as co-owners have evolved as the business has grown. He joked that Gaosong is “the boss,” but said they make decisions together and support each other as they continue building the business. 

“I always say I only do 10 percent of the work and she does 90 percent of the work because it’s true. The easy part is to make the food,” Marc said. “The hardest part is to bring it to people’s mouth and to hear about you.”

Gaosong Heu said she discovered her own strengths as a co-owner and gained confidence in her role leading the company. She said Marc’s trust in her and their team’s support have allowed them to continue growing and expanding.

As first-generation business owners, the couple never imagined Marc Heu Patisserie Paris would grow beyond one storefront. The couple opened their first location in Frogtown, where they spent nearly four years before moving to St. Paul’s Dale Street location. After nearly three years there, they expanded to their second location in Minneapolis’ Linden Hills neighborhood.

In summer 2025, they learned Marc’s dad was diagnosed with cancer, and the experience forced the couple to reflect on the legacy they wanted to leave for their parents, the Hmong community and Minnesota.

“That was when Marc and I decided if the opportunity came up, we would try to do a second location, and just continue growing,” Heu said.

 She said they approached the third location the same way. 

Alliance Française first connected with Marc Heu in 2019 after he opened his Frogtown bakery, inviting him to speak about his experience training in Paris and growing up in French Guiana. Since then, both have partnered on events and supported Heu’s work in bringing French culture through pastries and cuisines to the Twin Cities.

Executive Director Christina Selander-Bouzouina called it a “perfect partnership.”

“Having been trained and growing up in a French-speaking place with authentic French pastries, the training Marc received is really unmatched by all the pastry chefs here and the quality of his work is extraordinary,” Selander-Bouzouina said.

Beyond the authentic French pastries, the Heus hope the café offers customers a chance to experience French culture through food and community. Gaosong Heu one of the things French culture does best is encouraging people to slow down and enjoy food, from preparing it to sharing it, while Hmong culture similarly centers on community and bringing people together through the food they make and eat.

“That combination of us being Hmong and French really sets us apart in terms of the experience that we provide at the patisserie, and also it shapes our entire philosophy,” Heu said.

She said they want to make French food feel approachable to customers, while creating a space they felt was missing in the Twin Cities where people can slow down and connect over food.

“I wanted to allow people to engage with one another and build memories of the magic of France and Paris,” Heu said. “You really feel like you’re being transported into someplace else. It felt natural to want to bring that so we can have it for ourselves in Minnesota.”

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