Read the original article in French here.

It was their son who first brought them to this side of the Atlantic. He had moved to California to study and play basketball, and after traveling back and forth to visit him, the couple began considering a move to the United States. They eventually settled on Nevada, entrepreneur visas in hand.

Born in Martinique but having spent almost her entire life in Lyon, Gladys has been an entrepreneur for years. Her husband Franck, as she likes to point out, is “100% Lyonnais.” Las Vegas also offered them a professional environment that suited them: “I feel freer to work here, freer to talk about business. Americans love France. They love hearing French, they love French products,” Gladys explains.

Downtown Las Vegas was the dream from the start

When Gladys and Franck Khalifa arrived, they already knew where they wanted to set up shop: Downtown Las Vegas. “The place that really interested me was old Vegas,” Gladys says. But despite their search, they were unable to find the right space.

Instead, the couple opened their first French Riviera Bakery in Henderson, followed by a second location on Cimarron Road in Las Vegas. But Gladys never gave up on her original vision: “Deep down, my American dream was to be there.”

Eventually, an acquaintance told them about a space available Downtown. “At first, I wasn’t very motivated. We had other projects planned for later,” Gladys admits. Still, they decided to take a look. What happened next was immediate: “And then, it was love at first sight. I fell in love with the place.”

The former Andre’s takes the project to another level

The new location turned out to be the former home of Andre’s restaurant. Opened in 1980 by French chef André Rochat, the restaurant closed in 2009, and the space had remained vacant ever since. Gladys began researching the history of the address and quickly became captivated by it: “I fell in love with Andre’s, with this place, with the history of this building, which had always been a French establishment. I thought to myself: this is a place where, of course, I can’t just open a bakery.”

At 600 square meters—roughly 6,500 square feet—the space offered an opportunity to think bigger. After months of renovations, the bakery portion of the third French Riviera Bakery opened on July 31, 2026. In mid-September, a grand opening will mark the launch of its bistro.

“The idea is to create a truly French place, so that when you arrive Downtown and walk through the door, you step into France—with the music, the products, the bakery and the grocery store filled with French products,” Gladys explains. The commitment to authenticity extends all the way to the coffee, with Café Richard imported from France.

For the bistro, the couple is opting for a concise menu built around French classics, with a Lyonnais influence and dishes that will evolve with the seasons. “We’ll serve classics such as salade lyonnaise or pot-au-feu in the winter.” Their son, who studied at the Paul Bocuse school in Lyon, will oversee the kitchen.

While Andre’s history will remain part of the location’s identity, Gladys is careful not to create any confusion. French Riviera Bakery is not trying to revive the former restaurant: “We’re not Andre’s. We’re different, and we’re going to bring our own personal touch.”

Four years after unsuccessfully searching for their first location Downtown, the couple has finally brought their most ambitious project to life. For Gladys, it feels almost as though it was meant to be: “I didn’t choose this place. It chose me, because I always wanted to be here.”

L.G.