A Ukraine-based eatery that’s gained popularity since debuting in 2015 has opened its first U.S. location in Roswell.
Lviv Croissants opened at 11 a.m. Saturday at 610 W. Crossville Road, with the official grand opening Wednesday.
Founded in the city of Lviv, Ukraine, the chain has since expanded to 189 stores across Ukraine, Poland, Slovakia and now the U.S.
The store is majority-owned by Lviv Croissants corporate and Brett Larrabee, CEO of Lviv Croissants USA. Ukraine native Petro Dudnyk also serves as a franchisee for the location. Dudnyk, a pastor who also co-owns a Lviv location in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, came to the U.S. in 2022 for his son’s wedding and stayed after war broke out in the country. He funded his portion of the U.S. location through Thrive Community Lending, which provides microloans for refugees and immigrants.
Larrabee, who has been in the food franchising business for nearly 40 years, said he and co-founder Andrii Galytskyi have been wanting to bring Lviv to the U.S. for years. Larrabee was traveling in Ukraine for work when he began noticing the long lines that would form outside Lviv Croissants restaurants.
“Every time I went by a Lviv, they were packed,” he said. “After 37 years, I know what works and what doesn’t, what consumers want and don’t want. Lviv has a high-quality product and offers great coffee, great food and a great ambience where people can go and hang out and be part of a community.”
While the menu for the Roswell restaurant will be similar to European locations, some minor tweaks have been made, including removing the cheeseburger and teriyaki croissants.
Savory sandwiches on the American menu include the pastrami croissant; the Lviv croissant with salami, ham, Swiss cheese, lettuce, cucumber, tomato and garlic sauce; roasted pepper chicken; Italian charcuterie with salami, prosciutto and capicola; and a turkey avocado BLT.
Sweet croissant offerings including a strawberry and mascarpone croissant and an option filled with pistachio cream, while savory breakfast croissants include one filled with cabanossi sausage, Swiss cheese, egg and Sriracha aioli and another with lox and cream cheese.
Rounding out the menu are a handful of salads, soups and sides, as well as an extensive beverage list with espresso drinks, teas, lemonades and smoothies.
In addition to bringing a flavor of his home country to the U.S., Dudnyk also hopes to bring awareness to events unfolding there.
The cups at the Roswell location will feature a QR code enabling guests to get information on United for Ukrainian Kids, a program that Dudnyk and his wife started to connect orphans from Ukraine to host families in America for one month. Last year, they connected 100 kids — many of whom lost a parent to the war — with host families in the U.S.
Larabee said Lviv Croissants “checks all the boxes” when it comes to brands that are set up for success, and he plans along with Galytskyi to open hundreds of Lviv locations across the U.S. in the coming years.
“One of the things I look for are brands that can withstand challenges and work in tough environments,” he said. “What this chain has proved to me is that it’s a very resilient brand and a product that consumers really appreciate.”
610 W. Crossville Road, Roswell. 770-526-1234, lvivcroissantsga.com.
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