Meet Daniel and Noelle Martinez | Bakers/Owners

We had the good fortune of connecting with Daniel and Noelle Martinez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Daniel and Noelle, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
Honestly my wife and I are not risk-taking individuals. Quitting a job without having another lined up to ensure steady income is a preposterous notion, same as taking a family vacation without planning your stops and excursions is a recipe for disaster.

One of the biggest risks we ever took, individually or as a couple, was going into business for ourselves. Thankfully we didn’t have to start entirely from scratch—we took over a dying bakery and breathed new life into it. There have been plenty of obstacles—the long shadow cast by the previous owners, the fact that our business is French in name (Café Francais boulangerie et patisserie) and we specialize in French breads and pastry—but have hardly a French bone in our bodies, and have certainly never been to France—and let’s not mention the inherent ignorance of first-time business owners (quarterly and annual permits and tax returns, ever-increasing minimum wage and food costs, equipment failures).

Originally—when first considering going into business for ourselves—we were going to grow our own fruits and vegetables, harvest mesquite pods and mill them into flour, specializing in micro-local baked and preserved goods served with a majestic view of the Catalinas. This would have required tilling the land, crossing our fingers and counting on beginner’s luck to yield a good harvest, and building a kitchen literally from the ground up. Thus did taking something over and making it our own seem the lesser of two risks.

But why take the risk in the first place? I have enough experience with different kitchens, cuisines, and crews to get a chef job with relative ease, and my wife has a degree in baking and pastry that could open restaurant, hotel, and resort kitchen doors almost automatically. So what was the motivation?

At the time—mid-2019—we were both disenchanted with the foodservice industry. I’d left my corporate executive position at the beginning of the year and my wife left her spot as a sous chef in training (just before our wedding, no less), because we’d managed to find work helping to open a new concept for a local, well-respected restaurant group. When that didn’t work out (miscommunication, false accusations), we checked the job listings and simply didn’t like what we saw: Knew too much about this chef or that restaurateur, couldn’t get behind this concept or that company philosophy, didn’t have enough in savings to afford city or state relocation.

But we liked each other, and we believed in each other.

For me, food has always been more about the applied science—the making and the doing, the experimentation and confirmation of process and skill—and the fact that ingredients don’t lie. The chicken is always chicken, the butter is always butter. How they interact, and what they do to and for the customer—that’s on me. My mood, my patience, my discipline, all affects the final dish. Meanwhile for my wife, baking and pastry has always been about the happiness inherent in decadence—quite the other end of the spectrum: One day she made an apple pie for her family, and the look on their faces was all it took for her to realize what she wanted to do in life. Her love and compassion affect everything she makes.

We balance each other: After we got through 2020, Noelle wanted to open a storefront, not stay completely focused on farmers’ markets—risky, considering our business model, up to that point, was wholly reliant on peddling pastries in the open air, transporting baked goods to all ends of town every week. I crunched the numbers and provided a budget, she put in the work and, on April 6, 2021, we had a storefront—which we’ve remodeled or at least reconfigured twice since the initial opening.

Thanks to Covid, we needed to rethink how we transported and sold our wares and, ultimately, it made more sense—time-wise, environmentally, financially—to send two or three croissants in 100-150 pastry boxes each week than to try and individually package 200-300 pieces or more. Risky, because now we’d be asking folks accustomed to purchasing one or two items at the market to purchase those same items, but in multiples. Easy enough for those who got two croissants each week, but another matter entirely for those who got one plain and one almond, because now (unless they’d pre-ordered a mixed box) they had to get two and two.

Over the years we’ve replaced every recipe the former owners gave us—risky, because many of their loyal customers held their product in high regard—but worth it, because now *our* loyal customers hold our products in even higher regard.

In every situation and circumstance, one of us had the idea while the other took on execution and implementation. There was and has always been some overlap, and most changes—whether to the menu, storefront, prices, or staffing requirements—have not been smooth and effortless. We’ve learned to equate risk-taking with adaptability; and if there’s anything to learn from an old cook (aside from how to cook), it’s that you’ve got to be adaptable—because not everyone sets up your station the way that you do, and sometimes you run out of time if not product. Sometimes plates get dropped, sometimes waitstaff inputs the wrong order, sometimes people refuse to be satisfied with their experience.

Sometimes you find yourself without a job.

And, sometimes, you take a detour while on your well-planned vacation.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We are very proud to say that Cafe Francais is a 100% scratch bakery. We make hundreds of croissants and kouign amann every week, and we do it all by hand–from the traditional trifecta (classic and almond croissants, pain au chocolat) to bicolored variations (filled with pistachio frangipane, raspberry cream cheese, or blueberry cream cheese, with corresponding colors); from classic, salted caramel kouign amann to kouigns filled with jalapenos and raspberry cream cheese. We do macarons, filled with a variety of French buttercreams, local jams, and whipped ganache. We make, bake, and sell our baguettes on-premises, using flour, water, salt, and yeast, as according to French law; our sourdough starter is going on four years young; we invented and are the only sellers of “pain pico de gallo”–a marbled loaf with jalapeno, cilantro, onion, and tomato, rolled in blue corn masa before baking so as to evoke the feeling of eating chips and salsa–but as a bread. Tucson plus France in a single bite.

It wasn’t easy getting from where we started to where we now continue. Six months after first going into business for ourselves we shut down for a month due to Covid: Just me and my wife doing our best to coordinate curbside pickups, prepare meal kits for those in need, and watching the bank account dwindle as sales failed to match expenses. My wife was pregnant with our son, only three months left until she was due; we lost one of our bakers and only managed to hold on to our bread guy because he and I had worked together for years before. But we got through it by rethinking our packaging and our sales approach, and we made it through that summer, my wife’s maternity leave, and then the holidays: 2021 before we knew it, and hopeful but not expectant—bread guy decided he’d had enough and moved on to greener pastures. We perfected some our most signature items that year, eliminated another third of our menu, and introduced new items to replace those that we took away; renovated a portion of available extra space and opened our storefront; and, although we’d managed to replace both the bakers we’d lost, by the end of 2021 they, too, had moved on: 2022, then, began once more with just me and my wife, doing our best…and then she and our son got Covid in January.

Things started looking up once the family had recovered: We found two new bakers, and they’ve been with us ever since. In fact, we now have a staff of five, three bakers and two merchants. We expanded the storefront and introduced a coffee program, a cheese program, and a Tucson-local retail program (Queen Creek Olive Mill, Turtle Soup, Better Than Provisions, Metal Rooster Coffee Shop, Monsoon Chocolate and more). I make the croissants and kouigns, and my wife runs the store and maintains a strong social media presence. But we value our employees very highly, and we do our best to provide as many benefits as we possibly can—livable wages, supplemental insurance, tip pooling, paid sick leave, and—of course—plenty of free breads and pastries. We simply couldn’t do all the things we do without our employees, whether that refers to the merchants selling at the markets or the bakers preparing the goods for said sale, and it’s important to us to continue adding to this list when and as we can, to ideally be able to offer full health insurance and paid vacations as we continue to grow.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
There are so many things to do in and around Tucson, most times of the year–hard to pack it all in, in just one week.

Attractions: We’d go to the Sonoran Desert Museum or, it being too hot, perhaps Biosphere 2. It being still too hot, there’s always the International Wildlife Museum, quite possibly coupled with a sunset watch at Gates Pass. Kitt Peak Observatory is a fun go, but it can be difficult to coordinate night-time activities when your business gets going between midnight and two o’clock in the morning.

Gatherings: Depending on the time of year there’s the Pima County Fair (annual, April), Fourth Avenue Street Fair (bi-annual, Spring and Winter), and Tucson Meet Yourself (second weekend of October).

Foods: Although for my first Sonoran Dog my father took me to BK’s on 12th, I am and always have been a fan of the Sonoran Hot Dogs and Carne Asada Caramelos at El Guero Canelo at Grant and Oracle, and I take every opportunity to introduce newbies to the Tucson staple—whether via Guero Canelo, BK, or any one of the hot dog carts scattered around town…Of all the Nico’s Taco Shops, Viva Burritos, and Los Betos in Tucson, the Nico’s in Catalina has proven time and again to be the very best—owned and operated by a husband and wife couple with family for staff. For breads and pastries, I must confess I’d recommend Café Francais, but Houlden’s Rise Above does amazing vegan croissants, Danishes, and more. Cortaro Sushi is a long-time favorite, along with Pastiche Modern Eatery; Augustin Kitchen at Mercado San Augustin for upscale, Vero Amore for authentic Neapolitan pizza, Monsoon Chocolate for decadent bonbons and origin-specific chocolate bars.

Travel: Time and gas prices permitting, we love a weekend down in Old Bisbee, watching the gunfight reenactment at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, or driving up to Queen Creek for the Olive Mill if not The Pork Shop.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Firstly, we wouldn’t have been able to succeed in any of our business adventures without family–all those who have not only supported us but believed in us, invested in us and continue to push us forward.

Then there are those who have shaped us into the people we are today in the kitchen.

Daniel:
Although reading Kitchen Confidential (Anthony Bourdain) and watching Good Eats (hosted by Alton Brown) was both pivotal and educational for me as a cook and aspiring chef, in real life I know I’d not be who I am today without the mentorship, guidance and lifelong friendship of Joe Zolnierowski IV, who now lives in Rochester NY running his own restaurants.

Noelle:
Both Daniel (my now husband) and Virginia (Ginny) Wooters were my saving grace. Fresh out of culinary school Daniel and Ginny (not at the same time) took me in, gave me complete creative freedom and space to find the kind of pastry chef I wanted to be, they truly and genuinely believed in me until I could believe in myself.

Website: cafefrancaisaz.com

Instagram: @cafefrancaistucson

Facebook: @tucsoncafefrancais

Yelp: Cafe Francais Boulangerie et Patisserie

Image Credits
Noelle Jamison-Martinez