Mademoiselle Paris, a French bakery and bistro, is coming soon to 2937 Beach Boulevard South in Gulfport | CoStar

Gulfport’s dining scene is about to get a dash of Parisian charm.

Mademoiselle Paris, a beloved French bakery and bistro with three locations in Sarasota, is opening its newest restaurant inside the Peninsula Bed & Cocktails at 2937 Beach Boulevard South in Gulfport.

For owners Jean and Myriam Dandonneau, this latest chapter is more than just expansion. It’s a love story.

The couple met in France while working for a telecom company, but quickly realized their true passion was not in technology, but in food and wine. Jean’s grandfather had been a French chef at the Château of Chamarande, and with that inspiration, they began dreaming of building something of their own.

A trip to Florida in 2012 sealed their fate.

“A friend recommended we visit Florida,” Jean recalls. “We came once and fell in love instantly.”

An assortment of pastries from Mademoiselle Paris, coming to Gulfport this winter | Mademoiselle Paris

By 2016, they had opened their first Mademoiselle Paris location at the UTC mall in Sarasota. Not long after, the couple debuted locations in downtown Sarasota and Anna Maria Island.

The Gulfport location will be their most ambitious yet.

The 4,000-square-foot space will feature plenty of outdoor seating, a walk-up bakery window for early morning croissants and coffee, live French music on the weekends, and for the first time cocktails in addition to their extensive wine selection.

Guests staying at Peninsula Bed & Cocktails will find a QR code in each room for easy ordering. And in the future, depending on demand, Mademoiselle may offer direct delivery to hotel rooms.

Why Gulfport? For the Dandonneaus, the decision was serendipitous.

“We’d been looking for a spot in St. Pete for a while. We love it there, it feels more European to us,” Myriam explains. “Then one night we had dinner at Pia’s in downtown Gulfport. The street was alive with music, people were smiling everywhere. We felt something special.”

Owners Jean and Myriam Dandonneau accepting their Best of SRQ last year | Mademoiselle Paris

Months later, they discovered the Peninsula Bed & Cocktails restaurant space was available. “It seemed very romantic, very fancy for us. We knew right away it was the right place,” said Jean.

Mademoiselle serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, offering French classics made from scratch. The menu includes eggs benedict on a freshly baked croissant, croque monsieur with ham and Swiss or a truffle mushroom variation with creamy béchamel, beef burgundy slow-simmered in red wine, and risotto infused with truffle and parmesan.

And of course, the bakery will turn out baguettes, pastries, and viennoiseries fresh every morning.

The Dandonneaus also plan to bring one of their most popular Sarasota traditions to Gulfport: monthly French wine dinners. Limited to 100 guests, each evening pairs four courses of French cuisine with fine wines, all set to live music.

“It’s about more than food,” Jean says. “It’s about sharing the culture of France.”

Mademoiselle Paris Gulfport is targeting an early December opening.

Be sure to follow them on Facebook and Instagram for updates on the grand opening, wine dinners, and food specials.