Pierre Poulin’s passion for perfectly layered croissants has found a new home on Capitol Hill. The French pastry chef, who operates two Petit Pierre Bakery locations in Magnolia and Phinney Ridge, has opened a six-month pop-up inside Capitol Hill’s Metier, bringing his meticulous approach to French pastries to a new neighborhood.

“We do several bakes a day,” Poulin said . “We have our first bake that comes out around 7 am, then we have a second bake that comes out at 10, and a third bake that comes at 1. At one PM, you’re still getting fresh product coming out of the oven, and the difference is just striking.”

This commitment to freshness throughout the day — even at the new E Union pop-up —  has been a cornerstone of Poulin’s success since he took over his first Seattle location in 2020, right at the start of the pandemic. The Paris native, who has been in Seattle since 2016, brings 28 years of experience as a pastry chef, including work at three-Michelin-star restaurants in France and New York City.

The art of layers
For Poulin, creating exceptional croissants is all about the layers. “As simple as a croissant is, we are really meticulously crafting the product to see those layers and ultimately have that flakiness in the product,” he said. The secret lies in his choice of ingredients, particularly butter.

“We use a dry butter, so the water content in that product is a lot less than a butter that you would find at the grocery store,” Poulin explained. “It’s more pliable, the fat content is higher, and then you have more even layers.”

While he personally favors French Isigny butter and Kerry Gold at home, supply chain realities have led him to work with high-quality New Zealand butter for his laminated pastries. “The price difference between New Zealand and France, especially with the tariff, the butter is double the price,” he noted, citing recent trade policy impacts that have significantly affected his ingredient costs.

Connecting with Capitol Hill
The Metier partnership came about through Poulin’s membership in the shop’s cycling club. Todd Herriott, the 10-year-old bike shop, gym, and training center owner, approached him about taking over the café section, recognizing the challenge of managing food service alongside a bicycle retail operation.

The collaboration started with weekend pastry service over the summer before evolving into the current Wednesday-through-Sunday operation. Poulin sees Capitol Hill as distinctly different from his other locations.

“Capitol Hill is very dynamic and trendy,” he said. “People are on social media more. The crowd here is into that social media vibe and very much in need of finding the new best croissant, the new best pastry, or the new flavor.”

This demographic shift from Magnolia’s older clientele and Phinney Ridge’s busy families represents both a challenge and an opportunity for the experienced baker.

He is also joining a rich mix of French pastry creativity. The French Guys bakery shop is now in its third year serving the neighborhoods around its location in the Loveless Building just off North Broadway. Meanwhile, chef William Leaman opened his Capitol Hill location of Bakery Nouveau in 2013 on 15th Ave. Leaman was honored this year as he was selected as the coach of the U.S. team as it qualified for the final phase of the Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie.

Menu and future plans
The Capitol Hill location features Petit Pierre’s signature items, including their popular bacon, egg and cheese croissant, pain au chocolat, and an array of freshly made sandwiches prepared in the open kitchen. A special protein-loaded sandwich with beef filet and fried egg will be exclusive to this location, designed with cyclists in mind.

“When the riders have 40 miles in their legs, they want protein to recover from their ride,” Poulin explained.

The baker has also applied for a liquor license with plans to introduce happy hour service featuring small plates, tapas, beer and wine. “We have a beautiful patio,” he noted, envisioning expanded outdoor seating that could draw interest from the surrounding community.

Building community connections
Despite the challenges of starting fresh without an established customer base, Poulin is committed to building relationships within the Capitol Hill community. His approach mirrors his success at other locations: “When people see that you contribute to the livelihood of the community, they invest in you as well.”

The bakery plans to announce its grand opening through targeted postcards to neighborhood residents, offering free drinks with pastry purchases. Poulin also intends to create Capitol Hill-exclusive pastries with unique flavors available only at this location.

Whether the pop-up becomes permanent depends on community response over the next six months. “If we see we have a demand, and if we see that people discover us, and then we have a line morning after morning,” Poulin said, “this is all contingent on the success.”

For now, the focus remains on what has made Petit Pierre successful: “Staying true to what we do, and focusing on the layers. This is a petit Pierre bakery. Ultimately, it’s a little bit of a story about layers and the flakiness of the product.”

Petit Pierre Bakery is now popped-up inside Metier at 1017 E Union. Learn more at petitpierrebakery.com.

$5 A MONTH TO HELP KEEP CHS PAYWALL-FREE

Subscribe to CHS to help us hire writers and photographers to cover the neighborhood. CHS is a pay what you can community news site with no required sign-in or paywall. To stay that way, we need you. Become a subscriber to help us cover the neighborhood for $5 a month -- or choose your level of support 🖤