UPDATED: Voila Bakery in Allen, home of the best croissants in town, closed

by Teresa Gubbins

ALLEN — Voila Bakery, the Allen bakery-restaurant with superb breads and croissants (so superior that they were pronounced the best in town by D Magazine), closed a couple of weeks ago.

The closure was confirmed by a neighboring business at the strip center where Voila was located, and the phone number's been disconnected.

A source familiar with the restaurant's closure said that baker-owner Jean-Christophe Blanc had plans to re-open some form of the bakery in Dallas, and that they'd partnered in the venture with Mark Cuban. Cuban, known for being responsive and for answering emails, chose this time not to be responsive or answer his emails.

In any case, no more driving to Allen for the best croissants ever.

UPDATE: Blanc confirmed that he closed the bakery on July 15, with equal blame going to the economy, the summer vacation, and a less-than-sympathetic landlord.

"Our business was hurt by the economic situation, but we were close to making a deal with some investors," he said. "Summer vacation really killed us, business was down. And then the landlord situation blew up."

He has no deal with Mark Cuban. He said he'll go back to his native France for a brief vacation and then seek another location when he returns.