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The prospect of a Beard Papa’s Sweets Cafe opening in Los Angeles has me all choux’d up (heh). I originally read that it would be close to a year before opening in L.A., but after doing a little research, it turns out that a Beard Papa’s is opening at Hollywood & Highland in a matter of weeks.

I’ve only been to one Beard Papa’s, off Astor Place in Manhattan, but I can’t get the cream puffs out of my mind. Beard Papa’s is a tiny store-front shop that bakes fresh cream puffs on the premises then fills them with whipped custard cream. Flavors range from vanilla to chocolate, green tea, coffee, caramel, strawberry, black sesame and milk tea.

According to a story on “growth chains” by Erica Duecy, in Nation’s Restaurant News, “two separate franchisees in California are scheduled to open 20 Beard Papa’s units by next April in Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco and San Jose.”

There are two in Manhattan that sell upward of 2,000 cream puffs on weekdays and more than 4,000 on weekends, according to Duecy. It’s got a cultish and loyal following, as you can imagine. In Japan, the shops are typically located in train stations, but in the U.S., they tend to open along shopping corridors.

UPDATE: A tipster emailed me with word that one Beard Papa’s is destined for Hollywood & Highland and another at Pacific Square in Gardena. No info as to when, only “soon.”

UPDATE REDUX (6/3): According to a spokesman at Muginoho USA headquarters in NY, the pending Hollywood & Highland location is “dealing with permitting issues right now, but it is scheduled to open in late-July (!!) next to the Express clothing store in the entranceway right off the red carpet.”

See more Beard Papa’s photos on flickr.