Three France natives are sweetening the Columbia Waterfront, by Brian Abate

Brooklyn French Bakers opened on Columbia Street three and a half years ago has become a popular spot for treats and an important part of the community.
Sabrina Laboure, Nelly Azambre, and Teddy Collet all once lived in France, moved to Brooklyn, and came together to form Brooklyn French Bakers.

“At the beginning, I was making pastries, cake, and everything at home, and people came to my home and would buy them,” said Laboure. “People would ask me to make different pies, cakes, or pastries, and their feedback helped me a lot. ”
Nelly was also making pastries at home. The owner of the 273 Columbia Street is a friend and told us that he had a storefront available for us. ‘If you want, I have a spot available here,’ he said.

“At first, everything could just be ordered online, but people would say, ‘You have good stuff and we want to buy the baguettes and croissants,’ so we began to sell every day. People always supported the bakery, so one year later, we expanded the bakery, and it was the beginning of a wonderful story for us. We are very happy to be here. We have a lot of customers from the Columbia Street Waterfront District, Red Hook, and Carroll Gardens. The neighborhood here is very special.”

Second location
The bakery’s popularity has led to a second location opening in Park Slope at 510 2nd St. The plan is to open up a third location at 41 Flatbush Ave. in either December or January.
Laboure walked me through a typical day at Brooklyn French Bakers.

“The first person here is the baker, and he gets here at 1 am,” she said. “Afterwards, someone else takes care of the puffing pastries and cooking at around 4 or 5 am. I arrive at 6. I take care of the coffee and the different orders to prepare. I usually stay from 6 am to 2 pm, and then the other owners, Nelly and Teddy, will usually arrive at 9 am and close the shop at 5. But, when you go home at 2 pm, you aren’t really done for the day because there are still a lot of things to manage.”
Laboure had a unique path from her love of baking into a profession. While in France, she spent about 20 years working as a bank manager. She moved to Brooklyn when her husband started a business here. Both Azambre and Collet also used to work in other fields and moved to Brooklyn with their spouses.

“When I moved here, I knew I wanted to change my life,” Laboure said. “I tried to study to become a pastry chef with a school online, and after one year, I went to France for a pastry test and I passed the test. I began making pastries and cakes more than six years ago.

“Working in finance was interesting, and taught me to better understand the accountants and the financial aspect of what I’m doing. But what I’m doing now is my passion. It’s what I love. I love the creation, and I love it when the customers are happy. To me, the best thing people can say when they come back here after visiting France is ‘Your pastries are better than in France.’ For me, it’s the best.”

For Laboure, the key is making sure the quality of the food is consistent. Every morning, she checks to see if the croissants or baguettes are up to standard, and if that is not the case she does not sell them. She tries to source products locally when possible. Dried fruit, nuts, and some of the drinks are local, while certain products like butter are from France.

The consistency of the products helped Brooklyn French Bakers win multiple awards for their croissants. In 2023, the jury of “New York’s Best Croissant” named them the best croissant in New York. In 2025, they finished third place in the jury vote but came in first for the “People’s Choice” award.

Laboure gives credit to the team of people who work at Brooklyn French Bakers.

“Now we have a team of about 10 people,” Laboure said. “It’s interesting because each person’s story is so different, and I like that. Everyone is close. Sometimes they try to speak French.”

In June, Brooklyn French Bakers had a celebration outside with great food, which also gave Laboure a chance to spend more time with customers.

“It was a lot of fun to celebrate and get to know the customers,” Laboure said. “For French people, food is so important. It’s the link for everything, so it was great to have everyone come together.”

As time goes on, they will add new pastries and foods.

“We just want to make sure that we maintain our quality and make sure that we keep our customers happy,” Laboure said. “For me, it was a challenge to open a business because I’ve never done it before, but I learn every day.”

Brooklyn French Bakers, located at 273 Columbia St., (332) 250-0582 is open every day but Monday.