{"id":814882,"date":"2026-05-22T15:55:34","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T15:55:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/814882\/"},"modified":"2026-05-22T15:55:34","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T15:55:34","slug":"phoenix-customers-wait-hours-to-try-viral-new-restaurants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/814882\/","title":{"rendered":"Phoenix customers wait hours to try viral new restaurants"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tSabl\u00e9 Boulangerie opened one week ago, with hundreds of people arriving each day for the chance to buy a French-inspired pastry.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Will Porter<\/p>\n

Hundreds of people stand in the shaded alley across the street from downtown Gilbert\u2019s iconic water tower. Typically quiet in the morning, with a few families playing at the plaza park or truck drivers making deliveries, the area is buzzing. Daily crowds now stretch down Page Avenue and horseshoe onto the town\u2019s main drag, Gilbert Road. The most dedicated arrive before dawn, the savviest bring chairs, drinks or their laptops.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re not waiting to meet Devin Booker or buy tickets to the latest arena tour. Instead, these people are eagerly waiting for the chance to buy one of Will Porter\u2019s viral French-inspired pastries.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sabl\u00e9 Boulangerie opened last week<\/a> across the street from the Heritage District\u2019s iconic water tower. Porter and his small team make about 300 croissants, pain suisse, chocolate cookies and other baked goods five days a week, in addition to coffee drinks and hot chocolate. Those pastries get snapped up in a matter of hours.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never ever seen anything like this in Gilbert, so I don\u2019t know what to make of it,\u201d says the chef, a native of the area who trained and worked in France and Dubai. \u201cThis is much more extreme than what I saw in Paris.\u201d<\/p>\n

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THANK YOU!<\/p>\n

You’re all set.<\/p>\n

CLOSE\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just Sabl\u00e9 Boulangerie<\/a> that\u2019s seen hyped diners show up in droves. They\u2019re flocking to new and buzzy spots around the Valley, defying the typical end of season dropoff that comes when tourists and snowbirds depart and the temperatures climb. Despite the heat, line mania has struck Phoenix.<\/p>\n

\"\"Let\u2019s Toast opened its first brick-and-mortar store at Uptown Plaza on May 16.<\/p>\n

\u2018We\u2019ve learned a lot\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

In uptown Phoenix, Korean-inspired sandwich shop Let\u2019s Toast<\/a> opened its doors on Saturday. The line of people waiting stretched down the center of Uptown Plaza. While the brick-and-mortar eatery just opened, the concept built a strong fan base serving at Valley farmers markets and food festivals.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are very lucky to have our supporters, our regulars who have supported us over the last three years,\u201d co-owner Sean Atkinson told Phoenix New Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He and his wife, Sumin Kim, sold out of food the first few days of business. On Saturday, the restaurant offered a 50% discount. Diners waited one to two hours for a Bulgogi Cheesesteak or Cinnamon Butter Toast made with thick, pillowy slabs of housemade Japanese milk bread. A person dressed as Mister Toastie \u2013 Let\u2019s Toast\u2019s bready mascot with cartoonish eyes, a raised brow and sly grin \u2013 worked the crowd.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been really hard, but we\u2019ve learned a lot,\u201d Atkinson said of the transition from mobile pop-up to a brick-and-mortar location.<\/p>\n

Sabl\u00e9 chef, Porter, echoed that sentiment. He quickly hired more staff, adding another person to help with pastries and a dishwasher.\u00a0<\/p>\n

To serve more customers, Porter instituted a limit of two pastries per order. He also paused the launch of online pre-orders while folks are still lining up in person.<\/p>\n

Last week, Porter hollered updates from the bakery window, shouting from the small building to customers waiting in the long line. Continuously giving updates while also serving people became almost impossible, he says. The chef also uses social media to announce dwindling products and sell-outs,\u00a0in hopes of avoiding people making a drive or waiting, only to be disappointed.<\/p>\n

When he has announced sell-outs to those still in line, there have been \u201cseveral poorly behaved customers,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had a lot of people demanding that they are issued a discount coupon and able to cut to the front of the line the following day,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s something the chef has declined to do, but things have become \u201cchaotic\u201d as the final pastries are sold. Porter has hired a security guard to help manage the crowd. The bakery\u2019s long lines and quick sellouts have led to some backlash through online reviews and social media comments.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That disappointment pains the chef. He\u2019s also flabbergasted by customers who say they\u2019ve waited in line three times before finally getting served.<\/p>\n

Every day, he asks the last person he serves what time they arrived. On Sunday, the last customers to get bakes arrived at 7:30 a.m., 30 minutes before the bakery opened.<\/p>\n

For a brand-new business settling into a new space, the demand is difficult to manage. But the eagerness and excitement of fans make the long hours worth it, Porter says. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt makes the work we\u2019re doing a lot easier,\u201d he says, \u201cand the work has really been a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sabl\u00e9 Boulangerie<\/strong><\/p>\n

228 N. Gilbert Road, Gilbert<\/strong><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s Toast<\/p>\n

100 E. Camelback Road, #164<\/strong><\/p>\n

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