It’s been nearly 30 years since The New York Times ran the headline, “From a Small Bakery, a Virtual Mountain of a Cookie” — and customers have been having peak experiences at Levain Bakery ever since.

Its recent viral opening at Fashion Island brings an Orange County exclusive location to eager fans who lined up around the corner to the koi pond to get a bite, capturing the attention of a traffic helicopter and local media. Levain Bakery now boasts 20 locations from Manhattan to Newport Beach. Highlights include the original chocolate chip walnut cookie; crusty artisan baked goods such as ciabatta and cinnamon butter brioche; and a tomato, arugula and burrata sandwich served on an everything baguette. New for fall: a savory cacio e pepe scone.

The iconic brand was born when founders, best friends and competitive triathletes Pam Weekes and Connie McDonald opened a cozy, small-batch bread shop on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. They called it Levain Bakery, after the French word for “leavened bread.” It was 1995, and the small team baked every loaf, baguette, roll and mammoth 6-ounce cookie by hand. Shortly after opening, while training together for an Ironman triathlon, they realized they needed a massive, dense source of calories and energy to sustain them through their grueling sessions.

They spent weeks experimenting in the bakery’s kitchen to create the ultimate fuel: a giant, 6-ounce, ultra-dense chocolate chip walnut cookie. Once they put a few on the shelf alongside their bread loaves, word spread fast, and the cookie quickly eclipsed everything else. What started as a personal post-race reward quickly turned into a nationwide obsession.

The barista bar at Levain Bakery’s Newport Beach location features a custom mural by artist Janice Chang, a SoCal native who also created the murals at Levain’s Larchmont, Venice and Beverly Hills bakeries. Inspired by OC coastal living, the piece captures the easy, sun-soaked spirit of Newport Beach — with a few Levain cookies tucked among the waves. Rendered in soft sand tones and Levain’s signature blue, the mural is a love letter to the neighborhood that Levain now calls home.

Beyond the baked goods, the bakery’s distinctive lifestyle branding has built a cult following of its own. A big box of treats — tied with a signature blue ribbon — comes packaged in Levain’s iconic, instantly recognizable blue box. For longer-lasting keepsakes, visitors can opt for collectible cookie tins, as well as an elegant Crate & Barrel collaboration line featuring an exclusive 17-piece collection of baking tools, serveware and accessories designed to bring the iconic NYC bakery’s style and home-baking expertise into your kitchen. There are also limited-edition, whimsical tote bags to celebrate the grand opening.

Why Fashion Island for the first Levain in California outside of L.A.?

“We’d been looking in Orange County for a few years,” co-CEO Taya Stenson says. “When we visited Fashion Island, we immediately noticed the kids, dogs, families and friends enjoying the center. I saw two people running toward each other outside what became our storefront, and hugging.

“We love Fashion Island’s walkability and its true neighborhood feel. We’re surrounded by so many amazing brands — we’re in great company!”

Join Levain Bakery founders Pam Weekes and Connie McDonald at Barnes & Noble Fashion Island on Nov. 11 at 6 p.m. for a conversation about their new book, a collection of stories and personal accounts of how Levain Bakery grew into the success it is today. Ten percent of the proceeds of the book will be donated to Hot Bread Kitchen, an organization committed to creating economic opportunity through culinary job skills training. LevainBakery.com/Products/
30th-Anniversary-Book