Bright and early this Saturday, June 24 at 8:00 a.m., Levain Bakery will open its doors and welcome the neighborhood inside. We’ve all been watching the space take shape over the last few months, including the completion of the mural transforming the parking lot next door, and now it’s time to step inside and smell the cookies!
Levain Bakery Co-Founders Pam Weekes & Connie McDonald, Omar Perez, General Manager, Levain Bakery Larchmont Village, and Pamela Ruales, Assistant General Manager, Levain Bakery Larchmont Village, will celebrate the opening with a ceremonial team ribbon cutting.
Early risers will be rewarded! The first 100 people in line will receive a special Levain Bakery Larchmont Village tote with bakery swag. Throughout opening day, Levain folks have planned activities for families to enjoy, such as balloon twisting and face painting. The proceeds from Levain Bakery Larchmont’s opening day will be donated to Alexandria House – a transitional home for women and children located in Wilshire Center.
Levain Bakery is best known for its giant 6-ounce cookies that are baked fresh daily, crispy on the outside, and ooey-gooey on the inside. Founded in 1995 by Pam Weekes and Connie McDonald as a small bread shop on the Upper West Side, the bakery has become a renowned destination, now with twelve locations across New York, Washington DC, Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles.
The interior of the bakery was designed by Brooklyn-based Sarah Carpenter & Studio, and features high ceilings and large street facing windows in the historic space that had long been empty on Larchmont. The bakery design showcases the ovens with views of the kitchen, allowing customers to watch the bakers in action. Handmade deep blue tiles reflect the perfectly imperfect cookie shape and add the pop of blue that connects all Levain bakeries, according to Levain.
The north wall of the bakery’s exterior displays a striking 80-foot by 20-foot mural that runs the length of the building. Created by artist Janice Chang, a native Angeleno, the mural pays homage to the charming and historic Larchmont neighborhood. Chang’s vibrant, whimsical and abstract grid-style map highlights familiar scenes within Larchmont Village, as well as iconography more broadly associated with the city of Los Angeles.
Levain’s menu of cookies includes its legendary six signature cookie flavors: Chocolate Chip Walnut, Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip, Dark Chocolate Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal Raisin, Two-Chip Chocolate Chip, and the most recent addition, Coconut Caramel Chocolate Chip – all baked fresh, in house, daily. There’s also a Vegan Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Walnut cookie (a vegan, gluten-free version of the bakery’s most popular item), as well as Levain’s summertime seasonal cookie – Rocky Road, full of rich, semisweet chocolate chips, crunchy almonds and pillowy marshmallows.
In addition, the bakery will also feature pastries such as its celebrated blueberry muffins, loaf cakes, bread and rolls, and decadent weekend-only sticky buns, all made fresh-in house. Levain is partnering with local LA roastery Canyon Coffee for all espresso beverages.
This past March, Levain launched Gluten Free & Vegan Chocolate Chip Walnut cookie – a gluten free and vegan version of the bakery’s most popular item and the cookie that started it all. The cookie features chunks of crunchy walnuts, semisweet vegan chocolate chips and is made with cultured plant-based rich and creamy butter made from cashews.
Throughout the year, Levain locations feature limited edition seasonal cookie flavors. Levain Larchmont will launch with a summertime seasonal treat, Rocky Road – a dark chocolate cookie full of rich, semisweet chocolate chips, crunchy almonds, and pillowy marshmallows.
