Lackawanna County Commissioner Bill Gaughan, center left, presents a Business Improvement Grant check for $5,000 to Zachary Morgart-Filipski, center right, owner of Zax Bakeshop, Friday at the bakery located at 234 Scranton-Carbondale Highway, Archbald. Zax Bakeshop, set to open in the fall, is a French-inspired bakery.

Meet Zachary Morgart-Filipski, owner of Zax Bakeshop
Zachary Morgart-Filipski is owner of Zax Bakeshop, 234 Scranton-Carbondale Highway, Suite A, Archbald. The new bakery will focus on authentic French-inspired pastries, hand-crafted baked goods, sour doughs and breads.

How did you start baking?
I started baking when I was a kid. At Christmastime, I would help my mom make a whole bunch of Christmas cookies. As the years went on, I decided I wanted to make a career out of it and that I wanted to open my own bakery.

Describe your menu.
My menu is a little bit different than the menus you see in our area's bakeries. We are focusing more on authentic French inspired pastries, baked goods, sour doughs and breads. We will offer items such as croissants, pain au chocolat, macarons, entremets, and petit gauteux.

What do you consider to be your signature offering?
I would say our macarons and croissants will be our signature offerings.

How would you describe the atmosphere of the bakery?
I am trying to recreate those amazing smells/aromas you get when you walk into a bakery in France.

Will you have events or entertainment?
I plan on focusing our menus on seasonality. Flavors will change to showcase the amazing flavors of each season. I think this will help keep our menu fresh and exciting for our customers. We are also planning a ribbon cutting ceremony when the opening dates gets closer!

Where do you see Zax Bakeshop headed in the future?
I see Zax Bakeshop as a staple in the Valley/Scranton area. We will always take pride in offering hand-crafted baked goods.

If you could have coffee and a croissant with someone, real or imaginary, who would that be?
I would love to have a croissant with Christophe Rull. The way he works and experiments with classical French pastries is exciting and inspiring. (Rull is an internationally-known, French-born pastry chef who starred in Netflix’s “Bake Squad.”)

For more information, follow Zax Bakeshop on Facebook.