Wichita restaurant owner, senior member of influential restaurant family, dies at age 71

Naji Toubia was a hard worker, an expert baker, a savvy business owner and a much-loved husband, father and brother.

He was also one of the founding members of a Wichita restaurant empire that, starting in the late 1970s, helped usher Wichita into a more sophisticated era of dining.

Toubia, the longtime owner of Bagatelle Bakery and Cafe, died on July 10 at age 71. He will be celebrated by friends and family at a memorial service set for 4 p.m. Tuesday in Lotus Hall at Botanica, 701 Amidon. Bagatelle will be closed on Tuesday.

But members of his extended family, including his wife, Claire, his four children and his well-known chef sisters and Latour co-owners Randa and Joumana Toubia, recently got together to talk about Toubia, who they will remember as a no-nonsense businessman, talented chef and a giving mentor.

Toubia was one of three boys in a family of seven children born in Beirut, Lebanon. He immigrated to the United States in 1973, where his brother — Latour founder Antoine — was already living. Toubia’s goal was to get an education, and he earned a degree in bioengineering from Wichita State University. While in school, he worked as a sous chef at Crestview Country Club, and that’s where he met his future wife, Claire, who was employed there as a server. They married in 1983.

The couple moved to College Station, Texas, where Toubia received his master’s degree in food science from Texas A&M University. He was pursuing a doctorate’s degree when he was asked to return by brother Antoine, who was running his Olive Tree restaurant at 540 S. Oliver and was about to open Cafe Chantilly at 6321 E. Kellogg. He needed help, he told his brother, with his new restaurant and with Bagatelle Bakery, 6801 E. Harry.

Eventually, Naji and Claire took over Bagatelle completely, and that bakery and restaurant was Naji’s life passion, his family said. They described him as a world-class baker who sought out training from anyone who could teach him. No one could make a better croissant, said his son Joseph, though each member of his family had a different favorite from his baking repertoire.

Brother Antoine, who would found local restaurant group Latour Management in 1988, relied on his brother’s help, and Toubia held a senior leadership role in the company. Antoine died in 1996 of cancer of the esophagus, and eventually Toubia and sisters Joumana and Randa took over the company, which by then also included Piccadilly Grill, Chelsea’s and a large catering business.

Toubia was an excellent teacher, his family said, and he wanted people to learn by watching him at work. Many Wichitans count him as a mentor, they said.

He was a soft-hearted but serious man who had high ethics and principles and expected others to as well. An introvert, he was nonetheless a force of a human.

“If you see his photo, you get an idea,” Randa said. “He had a frown and a smile at the same time. He was the yin and the yang, the yes and the no. He was all of it together. He meant what he said. He was no nonsense, and he practiced what he preached.”

In his free time, his family said, Toubia enjoyed gardening and being near the water. He loved fishing and even tried scuba diving in his younger days.

He also was mechanically inclined and could fix anything, from kitchen equipment to tractors at his home in the country.

If anyone needed anything from him, his family said, all they had to do was ask.

“He was a humble man. He didn’t like the limelight,” Joumana said. “He never wanted to be the center of attention, but when he entered the room, it was like, ‘Ah, Naji is here.’ People adored him.”

Bagatelle was his baby, and even though his children had persuaded him to work less and relax more, he was still heavily involved in the restaurant and was proud of the fact that it didn’t close during the COVID-19 pandemic. In recent months, he would work remotely from home and keep a close eye on operations.

Naji Toubia is survived by his wife, Claire, by his children Joseph, Spencer, Yvette and Samira, and by siblings Gracia, Randa, Joumana and Marcelle. His brothers Antoine and John preceded him in death.