How famous can a bakery and its Chocolate Chip Walnut cookie be?
Noteworthy enough to merit a spot on tourists’ bucket list for the Big Apple. And a Wikipedia entry. And nationwide delivery.
And no doubt long lines when Levain Bakery of New York City opens its first Northern California location at San Jose’s Santana Row.
Summer 2027 is the projected date, bakery representatives announced this week.
The bakery was founded in 1995 on the Upper West Side by two friends, Pam Weekes and Connie McDonald, who were originally interested in sharing their artisanal breads — hence the name Levain, from the French for leavening.
But their big cookie — 6 ounces — caught on, becoming their signature item, and the bakery expanded to the Hamptons and then eight other New York locations.
Levain now operates 20 nationally, including in Boston, Philadelphia, D.C. and Chicago — and became bicoastal with shops in Los Angeles and Orange County (Newport Beach), according to the website. Besides San Jose, Florida is on the next-up list, with a Miami shop coming soon.
Besides the Chocolate Chip Walnut behemoth, Levain — which bakes its wares in-house daily — offers Dark Chocolate Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal Raisin, Caramel Coconut Chocolate Chip and Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip cookies, a vegan and gluten-free version of the signature cookie, and rotating flavors like Raspberry Pistachio and Fall Spiced Chocolate Chunk.
If the SoCal prices and hours are any indication, the Santana Row shop is likely to be open daily from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., with cookies selling for about $6.30 each.
Details: levainbakery.com.
Dining and Cooking