French bakery in Utah ramping up for Paris 2024 Summer Olympics

SALT LAKE CITY — With 100 days to go until the 2024 Paris Olympics, people in Utah are gearing up for the games.

Délice French Bakery and Café owner Jean-Jacques Grossi calls Utah home now, but he said he’ll always root for his home country. His bustling bakery sits on State Street.

“Over the years, business boomed in Salt Lake City,” Grossi said.

Everything inside is inspired by France. Grossi is from the south of France.

“I sit down with people sometimes and tell them where I come from and what it’s been like to have a business here in Utah,” he said.

He said he considers his home country a very international place.

“Vacations. Or a lot of people go on their missions in France, a lot of people come back and they want to speak French,” Grossi said.

His customers come for a taste of France.

“They’re glad to see something that’s similar that they had in Europe,” he said.

In a few months, they’ll share the experience of watching the Olympic Games.

“I should install a TV just for that,” Grossi said, laughing. “It’s nice to share this.”

He and his sister, Magali Coburn, are excited to see their home country on the world’s stage.

“Paris is such a beautiful city, I still love it,” she said.

Coburn lived there for years, but moved to Utah 28 years ago.

“I go back every year,” she said. “I was in Paris last month.”

She and her brother experienced the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City. They know how big of an event it is.

“Cops everywhere. Especially around the Eiffel Tower,” she said. “I was told that the Seine, the river in Paris was cleaned completely because the athletes are going to swim in it. I was shocked.”

There’s no place they’d rather watch from than Utah, a state that loves sport and its athletes, and embraces the spirit of the games.

“I hope people will watch the Olympics and enjoy the scenery of the city,” Coburn said. “I will be watching the Olympics from my sofa.”