One of Chicago’s most hyped bakery openings finally has a date

After nearly two years of teasing Chicago with an “open when it’s ready” philosophy, one of the city’s most hyped bakery projects has finally decided it’s ready.

Guillotine Bakery, the French-inspired concept that has been building a cult following long before opening its doors, will officially debut in West Town on June 17 at 1711 W. Chicago Avenue. And if the bakery’s name, branding and attitude are any indication, this isn’t aiming to be your average neighborhood croissant shop.

Founded by French baker Vincent Didry alongside co-founder Alizé Bikard and head baker Vince Le Bec, Guillotine arrives with serious pastry credentials. Before moving to Chicago, Didry spent years working in some of Paris’s best-known bakeries and chocolatiers, including Ladurée and Pierre Marcolini, and helped open multiple locations for the cult French boulangerie The French Bastards. Le Bec has experience in kitchens across France, Switzerland and the U.S. and grew up in Brittany, France, which heavily influenced the bakery’s menu.

“Not a bakery, not a coffee shop, not a bar or a restaurant, Guillotine is a space to enjoy a French style of living: a little crazy, modern, reactive, bold,” Didry said in a statement.

The menu will rely heavily on traditional French techniques, with flour and butter imported directly from France. Expect staples like croissants, baguettes, pain de campagne and kouign-amanns, the famously buttery Breton pastry that Le Bec grew up eating. There will also be sandwiches, espresso drinks and a few playful creations inspired by American baking traditions. Coffee will come from local favorite Sparrow Coffee Roasters and the beverage program will stay intentionally streamlined with espresso drinks, lattes and other café essentials.

Local design studio Siren Betty created the space, which will include a breakfast counter that overlooks the production kitchen, letting customers watch bakers shape dough, laminate pastries and pull loaves from the oven throughout the day.

If the hype feels unusually intense for a bakery opening, there’s a reason: earlier this year, Guillotine staged a one-day pop-up at Mindy’s Bakery in Wicker Park and reportedly sold more than 700 pastries in just a few hours.

Chicago’s pastry obsessives have already made their verdict. Now, on June 17, everyone else gets a chance to see what all the fuss is about.