Levain Bakery is a retail bakery that opened in 1995 and is located at 167

West 74th Street 74th Street is an east–west street carrying pedestrian traffic and eastbound automotive/bicycle traffic in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It runs through the Upper East Side neighborhood (in ZIP code 10021, where it is known as East ...

, on the

Upper West Side The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper West ...

neighborhood of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. In June 2000 a second retail location was opened for seasonal business at 354 Montauk Highway, Wainscott, in the

Hamptons The Hamptons, part of the East End of Long Island, consist of the towns of Southampton and East Hampton, which together comprise the South Fork of Long Island, in Suffolk County, New York. The Hamptons are a popular seaside resort and one of ...

area of eastern

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

. A third store is located in the

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

neighborhood of

. In 2017, a fourth store was opened near the original location on the Upper West Side, and since then three more locations have opened on the

Upper East Side The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 96th Street to the north, the East River to the east, 59th Street to the south, and Central Park/Fifth Avenue to the wes ...

and in

NoHo NoHo, short for North of Houston Street (as contrasted with SoHo), is a primarily residential neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is bounded by Mercer Street to the west and the Bowery to the east, ...

and Williamsburg. In 2020, Levain opened their first store outside of New York, in Georgetown,

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

History

Founded and co-owned by Constance McDonald and Pamela Weekes, the bakery initially opened to serve a variety of fresh-baked

artisanal An artisan (from french: artisan, it, artigiano) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art ...

breads. The bakery has since become notable for its 6-ounce chocolate chip walnut cookies. McDonald and Weekes developed the signature cookie recipe while training for an

Ironman Triathlon An Ironman Triathlon is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC), consisting of a swim, a bicycle ride and a marathon run completed in that order, a total of . It is widely consider ...

. They discovered they needed a large number of calories to offset the rigors of training and decided on a traditional chocolate chip cookie, but much bigger. The 6-ounce chocolate chip walnut cookie served the purpose and ultimately became a signature item in their bakery. The cookie has spawned copycats. In 1998 Levain Bakery expanded its cookie business to include mail order.

Appearances in media

The Food Network has featured Levain Bakery in episodes of Throwdown with Bobby Flay, Roker on the Road,

Unwrapped ''Unwrapped'', also known as ''Unwrapped with Marc Summers'', is an American television program on Food Network that reveals the origins of sponsored foods. It first aired in June 2001 and is hosted by Marc Summers. The show leads viewers on to ...

, Top 5, The Best Thing I Ever Ate, Sweet Dreams, and Worth It. In December 2007, Levain Bakery was featured on an episode of

Fashionably Late with Stacy London ''Fashionably Late with Stacy London'' was an American late-night talk and variety show on TLC hosted by Stacy London. As of February 8, 2008, the show no longer appeared on TLC's TV show schedule.

. In June 2008, Budget Travel listed Levain Bakery #3 of “50 Reasons You Love New York City.” They have been featured in the following books: *''The Slow Food Guide To New York City'', Patrick Martins and Ben Watson. *''New York's 50+ Best Places to Enjoy Dessert'', Andrea DiNoto and Paul Stiga. *''A Day at the Beach'', Helen Schulman. *''Cook What You Love'', Bob and Melinda Blanchard. *''Jodi’s Shortcuts 2000'' and ''Jodi’s Shortcuts 2002'', Jodi Della Femina and Daniel Benedict *Food and the city, Ina Yalof.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Levain Bakery website

Levain Bakery, NY Magazine
Bakeries of the United States Cuisine of New York City Retail companies established in 1995