Levain Bakery is known for its massive, 6 oz. cookies but co-chief executive officer Taya Stenson recommends splitting them with a friend.
“They are big cookies and are great for sharing. Our founders originally created them for fuel as they were training for triathlons. If people want to share them, they can,” Stenson said. “I can’t say that I personally do that all the time.”
Levain Bakery’s first Orange County location opened to the public at 8 a.m. Friday at Fashion Island in Newport Beach. The opening had been highly anticipated since it was announced earlier this month. By 8:40 a.m., there were just under 400 people in line.
“I am like a kid in a candy store,” said Newport Beach resident Barbara Simon. “I’ll take this, I’ll take that. We walked out $69 later.”
Barbara and Jay Simon thought their 7:40 a.m. arrival would be early enough for the opening, but there was over a 100 people in line when the Simons arrived. They didn’t mind, though.
“Everyone was so loving, so outgoing, so warm and they even escorted us inside,” said Barbara Simon. ”This is the most generous and friendly handling and organization,” added her husband, who is 95 and relies on a walker to get around.
Levain Bakery was founded in New York City in 1995 by best friends Pam Weekes and Connie McDonald. As Stenson mentioned, the specialty shop introduced cookies after the founders began training for triathlons. The confection became Levain Bakery’s bestseller and the company now operates 19 U.S. locations, including three in Southern California.
Bringing Levain to O.C. was always a goal for the brand, Stenson said.
“We’ve been wanting to come to Orange County, but we have been looking for the right space, the right neighborhood, ” said Stenson. “For us, Newport Beach is just absolutely perfect. We like to pick neighborhoods where we can feel part of the community and I can’t tell you how much we already feel like that. We have met kids, dogs and families.”
The Fashion Island location also embraces local culture with a custom mural by artist Janice Chang. The SoCal native used the coastal lifestyle of Newport Beach as the inspiration for the mural that features surfers and a duffy boat in Levain’s signature blue, with a few cookies floating throughout.
On the menu, guests will find signature cookies, artisan breads, sandwiches, muffins and pastries.
“We all love cookies, but as you can see we don’t use sprinkles, we don’t use frosting,” said Stenson. ”We are really proud of the simple ingredients we use.”
Debi Mello was a devoted fan of Levain having visited New York, Boston and Los Angeles locations.
“We just moved to Dana Point from the San Francisco Bay area and when I heard about this I couldn’t miss it, I’m obsessed with their cookies,” Mello said. “I came here by myself and met some really nice cookie lovers.”
Mello said her favorite Levain cookies are dark chocolate peanut butter chip and classic chocolate chip.
Visitors this week have the chance to experience Levain’s summer seasonal cookie, the Raspberry Pistachio. Other limited edition offerings include the cinnamon roll muffin, with cinnamon swirl and a vanilla glaze.
in addition to sweet treats, the menu also features savory pastries and sandwiches, like the ham and cheese made with Black Forest ham, provolone cheese and whole grain dijon mustard on a house-baked sesame seed baguette.
The new Fashion Island location also features full barista service, serving cappuccinos, cold-foam drinks, matcha and the bakery’s viral cookie milk latte, made with milk infused with Levain cookies.
The first 100 customers in line on Friday received Levain Bakery Newport Beach tote bags filled with bakery swag, but the company also decided to make a bigger contribution to the local community. A portion of the proceeds from opening day will benefit Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County, a non-profit that provides nutritious food at more than 300 locations in O.C.
Beyond the opening, on a daily basis any unsold baked goods will be donated to Abound Food Care, a Santa Ana-based nonprofit dedicated to food recovery that helps reduce food waste and end hunger in the local region.
Stenson said Levain Bakery is happy to make such commitments to Orange County charities and to make O.C. its new home.
“We really couldn’t have ask for a better location, a better community,” said Stenson.
Levain Bakery is located at 315 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach, and is open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. For details go to levainbakery.com
Daily Pilot contributing writer and photographer Susan Hoffman contributed to this story.