Mimi's Bistro + Bakery (formerly Mimi's Café) is an American

restaurant chain A chain store or retail chain is a retail outlet in which several locations share a brand, central management and standardized business practices. They have come to dominate the retail and dining markets and many service categories, in many pa ...

with 46 locations in 12 states. Originally headquartered in

Tustin, California Tustin is a city located in Orange County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. In 2020, Tustin had a population of 80,276. The city is located next to the county seat, Santa Ana, and does not include the unincorporated communi ...

, its headquarters moved to

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County wi ...

in 2014 after 36 years in California. It serves French and American food, with French rustic decor and themes. Arthur J. Simms (who headed the

commissary A commissary is a government official charged with oversight or an ecclesiastical official who exercises in special circumstances the jurisdiction of a bishop. In many countries, the term is used as an administrative or police title. It often c ...

at MGM Studios in the 1950s), his son Thomas Simms, Brian Taylor, and Paul Kurz opened the first Mimi's Cafe in December 1978 in

Anaheim Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-mos ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

Bob Evans Farms, Inc. Bob Evans Restaurants, also known as Bob Evans, is an American chain of restaurants owned by Golden Gate Capital based in New Albany, Ohio. After its founding in 1948 by Bob Evans (1918–2007), the restaurant chain evolved into a company with t ...

purchased the Mimi's Cafe restaurant chain (operating under SWH Corporation) in July 2004 for USD$182 million. Mimi's Cafe was sold to the U.S. branch of Groupe Le Duff, which also owns the La Madeleine restaurants, in February 2013.

History

Mimi's Bistro + Bakery is a wholly owned subsidiary of LeDuff America and was founded as Mimi's Cafe by American airman Arthur Simms, who was stationed in France during World War II. He named the restaurant after a French woman he met in a party after the liberation of the country. In July 2019, the company re-branded as Mimi's Bistro + Bakery in order to "reflect the company’s desire to make Mimi’s a destination restaurant, where diners can sit down for a leisurely experience over food and affordable wine."

References

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External links

Mimi's Cafe website
Restaurant chains in the United States French restaurants in the United States Companies based in Irvine, California Food and drink companies based in California 1978 establishments in California