{"id":2019,"date":"2025-03-18T16:13:59","date_gmt":"2025-03-18T16:13:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/2025\/03\/18\/levain-bakery-will-open-two-new-locations-in-los-angeles\/"},"modified":"2025-03-18T16:13:59","modified_gmt":"2025-03-18T16:13:59","slug":"levain-bakery-will-open-two-new-locations-in-los-angeles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/2025\/03\/18\/levain-bakery-will-open-two-new-locations-in-los-angeles\/","title":{"rendered":"Levain Bakery Will Open Two New Locations in Los Angeles"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Co-Founders
Levain co-founders Pam Weekes and Connie McDonald. Melissa Kirschenheiter<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Now they\u2019re cookie-ing in Los Angeles.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n<\/section>\n

Levain Bakery<\/span><\/a>, best known for its ooey-gooey, six-ounce cookies, is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. And now Levain, which started as a tiny bread shop in New York\u2019s Upper West Side, is also writing a new chapter in L.A.<\/span><\/p>\n

After making their West Coast debut at a 4,000-square-foot space in L.A.\u2019s Larchmont Village in 2023, Levain founders Pam Weekes<\/a> and Connie McDonald<\/a> are ready to give more of the city a sugar rush. The pair plans to open another location on Venice\u2019s buzzing Abbot Kinney Boulevard in early April. Then, Observer has exclusively learned, Levain will open its third L.A. bakery in Beverly Hills, on a stretch of South Beverly Drive that\u2019s become a formidable restaurant row.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPam and I just really love L.A.,\u201d McDonald tells Observer. \u201cWe\u2019ve been looking on Abbot Kinney Boulevard for about six years. That really felt like a great expression of who we are.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Levain is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. Courtesy Levain Bakery<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Abbot Kinney Levain will be a sun-kissed 1,928-square-foot corner space with the bakery\u2019s signature deep-blue tiles alongside rich woods (maple, walnut and white oak) and big street-facing windows that will allow passersby to see bakers working in the kitchen.<\/span><\/p>\n

Given their New York roots, it\u2019s not surprising that Weekes and McDonald like being in strollable areas with vibrant dining and shopping options, along with significant residential density. This is a brand that could thrive in shopping centers, and Levain did take a look at The Grove in L.A., but charming neighborhoods are the bakery\u2019s bread and butter.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re very careful about where we open,\u201d Weekes tells Observer. \u201cWe want to open in a place where we can become a part of the neighborhood. We want every place to feel like our first baby, West 74th Street. We want to get to know people. We want to have relationships with people. It takes a long time to find the right fit.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Levain Bakery in Larchmont. Courtesy Levain Bakery<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As a nod to the bakery\u2019s New York origins, Levain will bring back its black-and-white chocolate chip cookie exclusively to the Venice location for a limited time. (Levain introduced that cookie, a nod to New York\u2019s popular bodega cookies, last year.) A bicoastal vibe will also be represented at the Venice Levain with a mural from L.A.-born, Brooklyn-based artist Janice Chang<\/a>, who also created a mural for the Larchmont Village Levain.<\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, it helps that many former New Yorkers live in Los Angeles.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI remember the first time I got off the plane in L.A,\u201d Weekes says. \u201cI was like, \u2018Oh my gosh, this is perfect. It\u2019s like New York at a beach. It\u2019s got everything I love right here.\u2019 When we opened our first bakery in L.A., we had a lot of customers who used to come in when they were in New York. And we\u2019ll be walking around and we\u2019ll run into people we know from New York in Venice and Santa Monica.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Levain is now expanding with two more storefronts in L.A. Courtesy Levain Bakery<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It\u2019s important for Levain, which is opening near Erewhon in Venice, to feel like it also has roots in L.A. So Weekes and McDonald have hired a Venice general manager, Audrey Amara<\/a>, who lives in the neighborhood and can ride her skateboard to work. And <\/span>all proceeds from Levain\u2019s opening day on Abbot Kinney Boulevard will be donated to St. Joseph Center<\/a>, a social service organization that started in Venice.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, in Beverly Hills, Levain has signed a lease on South Beverly Drive, just south of Wilshire Boulevard, right by Hillstone\u2019s South Beverly Grill. The home of the future Levain in\u00a0 Beverly Hills is a cozy 1,266 square feet, with an additional 400 square feet of mezzanine space.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI never really pictured us in Beverly Hills,\u201d McDonald says. \u201cBut I think that spot on South Beverly is kind of perfect. There\u2019s a lot of neighborhood there.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Beyond expansion, Weekes and McDonald are working on a book about Levain Bakery that they expect to be released in October.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt will have a lot of archival pictures and a lot of snippets and interviews with people, both team members and customers, who we\u2019ve worked with and known over the past 30 years,\u201d Weekes says. \u201cSo that\u2019s really kind of bittersweet and exciting and fun.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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The brand is known for its decadent, oversized cookies. Courtesy Levain Bakery<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Levain is also planning multiple collaborations, including a merchandise drop with <\/span>Dinner Service<\/span><\/a> that will feature shirts, sweatshirts and chore jackets, to celebrate its milestone anniversary.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And the journey will likely continue as Weekes and McDonald, who also have locations in Washington D.C., Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, look for more potential bakery spaces in Los Angeles and elsewhere in California.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe thing that drives us the most is finding the right space, the right neighborhood,\u201d Weekes says. \u201cWe are continuing to look. We both really love California.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"From<\/p><\/div>\n