Building History

This was the first restaurant in the Mimi's Cafe (later renamed "Mimi's Bistro + Bakery") chain, that, in 2024 stood at 44 outlets in 12 states including CA, AZ, CO, FL, MO, NC, NM, NV, OH, TN, TX and UT. This was down from 81 restaurants in 2004 and 140 outlets in 2009.

The chain was begun by Arthur J. Simms (d. 2000), his son Thomas M. Simms and two non-family members--Brian Taylor, and Paul Kurz-- in 1978 in Anaheim, CA. Simms was a veteran restaurateur, who managed the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer commissary in the 1950s. According to a 2004 article in the Los Angeles Times: "The inspiration for the chain came from family restaurants the Simmses had visited in New Orleans. The interior of a typical Mimi's resembles a French country home with dormer windows, bright awnings and stone walls. Favorite dishes included the 'Famous" Chicken Pot Pie nad Pot Roast. Arthur Simms named the restaurants after a woman he fell in love with in a small French town during a celebration during the end of World War II. Simms flew spy missions for the US Air Force [sic] out of London and into France during the war. He died in 2000 at the age of 82." (See Debora Vrana, "Mimi's Cafe Plans $85-Million Offering as Investors Regain Appetite for IPOs," Los Angeles Times, 05/07/2004, pp. 1, 9.)

For many years the chain was headquartered in the Orange County community of Tustin, CA, due east of Santa Ana. The restaurant and frozen food conglomerate Bob Evans Farms, Incorporated, bought Mimi's Cafes in 07/2004 for a sizeable $182 million. Bob Evans held it for nine years before selling the division to LeDuff America, Incorporated, a subsidiary of Groupe Le Duff of Rennes, France, in late 01/2013, recouping only $50 million. Groupe Le Duff, founded by Louis Le Duff (born 08/01/1946 in Cléder, France) in 1976, owned over 1,100 restaurants and bakeries in Europe and the US, and continued to own the Mimi's Bistro + Bakery chain in 2024. This firm shifted the corporate headquarters from Tustin to Dallas, TX, in 2014.

PCAD id: 25458