When the snow has thawed and the weather warms, Cambridge residents will be able to enjoy a sunny walk around Inman Square with pastry and coffee from Michette’s newest location. After three years serving French breads and pastries to East Somerville, Thomas Ferté is expanding his bistro to 305 Webster Ave. and adding a lunch menu.
The boulangerie has been known for its Sourdough loafs and flamboyant pastry offerings – it lists almond croissants, spanikopita and guava rolls among the most popular items at 164 Broadway – and took second-place honors for best baguette at the 2024 Le Grand Prix Elmendorf du Pain, an East Cambridge street fair and baking competition.
Michette’s current home is an unassuming pastry stand, an ode to the “tiny French bakeries back home,” Ferté said. “The kitchen is a little hard to work with.” The added square footage in Cambridge will mean more menu options, including sandwiches and hot foods, and more indoor seating for guests to enjoy them at.
While the menu will be unique for the Inman Square and Wellington-Harrington areas – the closest boulangeries are near Central Square – Michette joins neighboring bakeries of other traditions. The century-old Central Bakery sells Italian and Portuguese fare at 732 Cambridge St. A few blocks north on Webster Avenue on the Somerville side is Komugi Bakery & Cafe, a Japanese bread specialist that opened last fall at 68 Prospect St., Union Square.
Ferté spent five years practicing corporate law in New York City until the Covid pandemic gave him time to “reevaluate his priorities,” he said.
“I’ve always been super excited about food and bread, since I was a kid,” Ferté said. After the pandemic, he moved back to France to study and practice baking professionally. He returned to the United States and opened Michette’s first location in 2022.
The expansion west, closer to where Ferté lives, is inspired by Inman Square’s “small community feeling,” which Ferté said he finds similar to East Somerville.
Michette’s new home is a modest corner building with a yellow paper sign in the window that reads “Your new croissant dealer.” Ferté did not provide a specific opening date, but said a launch will come with warmer weather – “spring, or early summer.”
“We’re just super excited to be coming to Inman Square, and we can’t wait to be over with the construction,” Ferté said.
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