Entrance to Beau Jour De Ma Vie in Idylwood (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)
Eclairs and other pastries made by Beau Jour De Ma Vie in Idylwood (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)
De Ma Vie is located in a commercial building at 7787 Leesburg Pike in Idylwood (photo by Amy Woolsey)
A group of customers sits at a table in De Ma Vie (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)
A bakery that aims to replicate the taste and freshness of a Parisian cafe has opened up in Idylwood.
Beau Jour De Ma Vie kicked off its soft opening this past weekend (Feb. 28 to March 1) by letting visitors sample its croissants, tarts and other pastries for free.
“We just opened to get feedback from the people, so we welcome all the community and our friends to come and try,” owner Adel Kebaish said when FFXnow stopped by Saturday night.
Located in a nondescript commercial building at 7787 Leesburg Pike owned by Kebaish, the bakery and cafe was dreamed up by his daughter, Samara, who studied music at Juilliard School in New York City and attempted to write music for movies before shifting her focus to baking.
According to Kebaish, Samara began working as a baker in Montreal, Canada, where her mother is from. Hoping to spend more time with family after retiring from a 40-year career as an orthopedic surgeon, Kebaish offered space and support to his daughter so she could bring her concept for a French-style bakery to Northern Virginia.
Picturing a place where people can spend time and work or enjoy a conversation, Samara oversaw every aspect of the bakery’s design, from the custom-made furniture and artwork to the business’ logo and the color of paint on the walls.
The space includes an open kitchen that lets customers see De Ma Vie’s bakers at work and could host classes in the future, if Samara’s plans work out. All of the food is made fresh each day, with the team starting the bread and croissants at 5 a.m. and more delicate items like eclairs, macarons and tarts following at 11 a.m., Kebaish says.
“We don’t bring anything frozen from the store, and just the smell of a new bake is different,” he said.
With a name that translates to “a beautiful day in my life,” De Ma Vie has received a “very good” response from community members who’ve stopped by so far, according to Kebaish, who points to the baguette and croissants as two customer favorites so far.
Cases of bread sold by Beau Jour De Ma Vie in Idylwood (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)
The bakery intends to keep expanding its menu, which currently highlights French pastries like croissants and eclairs, cakes and savory sandwiches for lunch. Potential additions could include sourdough — something that has been suggested by patrons — and Italian desserts, such as cannoli, since the baking team includes an Italian chef.
In the future, Samara also hopes to serve French cuisine on weekends, and the building’s basement could eventually be turned into a space for special events.
“It’s a beautiful, high ceiling,” Kebaish said of the lower level. “… It would be very good for this community, for meetings, for weddings, for all that.”
De Ma Vie is open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. during the week, with operations extending until 9 p.m. on Saturdays and ending early at 7 p.m. on Sundays.
Though the bakery is only just getting started, Kebaish described the experience as already rewarding. In addition to getting to put a smile on customers’ faces by serving fresh pastries, the venture led to him coincidentally reconnecting with a friend from Korea who he hadn’t seen in 40 years.
“It’s so good to meet people and see the people happy,” Kebaish said. “When they bring kids and the kids, they try to help them to pick up some things, make them happy, it’s a fun thing. And seeing people and chatting with people, it’s good.”
Dining and Cooking