Everyone knows that our cookies are the hottest treats in town, but now Levain is getting even cooler. That’s right friends- Levain Bakery will soon officially be air conditioned! Amazingly enough, we have been operating out of our Upper West Side location sans AC since 1995…that’s fifteen Manhattan summers, for the record!… and with those ovens constantly opening and closing to deliver the freshest and most delicious cookies in the world- well, let’s just say it hasn’t quite been sugar and spice and everything nice with temperatures upwards of 90 degrees. Even though we like to think of ourselves as tough cookies around here…you know what they say, if you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen!… I can safely tell you that we’re all nothing short of ecstatic to welcome the new addition to the bakery. 

 

Installation’s going to take some time, but with any luck, we should be beating the heat by the time the solstice rolls around. Stop in soon, and you may even catch the staff doing a little happy dance as they pack away the fans and bid farewell to mountains of melting cookie dough. And don’t worry- even though it’ll be a bit cooler in here, those cookies are still going to be warm out of the oven!

So come and chill out with us all summer long…what could be sweeter?

Peace/love

Alley

We first met Alley last spring (2009) and only like her more and more as we spend more time together and get to know her better!

Name:  Alley

What’s your sign:  Virgo

Where did you grow up?  Newport, RI

How long have you lived in NYC?  3 years

What is your favorite color?  Purple

What is your favorite thing at the bakery?  Sourdough Baguette

Cat or Dog?  French Bull dog puppies

If you could be a cookie package, where would you want to be shipped?  London, England

What smells best when it is in the oven?  Choco-chip anything

Chocolate chip walnut or chocolate chocolate chip?  Chocolate Chip Walnut

What is your favorite song played at the bakery?  “ABC” The Jackson Five

What is your least favorite song played at the bakery?  N/A – I love all music

If you could be one thing in the bakery, what would you be and why?  Refrigerators/Freezers!  House awesome cookies and stay cold all day (hot summer here!)

Make a statement that best defines you.  “You don’t want, on the day you die, to realize you haven’t lived” – J Clifford Hobbins

Meet the Crew: Ann Marie

Name:  Ann Marie

What’s your sign?  Leo

Where are you from originally?  Buffalo, NY

How long have you lived in New York City?  3 years

How long have you been working at Levain Bakery?   9 months(ish)

What brought you to NYC and the bakery?  I moved to NYC/Brooklyn to finish school at Pratt.  My friend worked at Levain. 

What’s your favorite thing at the bakery:

To eat?  Mozzarella, tomato, basil sandwich.

To do?  Bake, scale cookies, dance.

If you could be a cookie package, where would you want to be shipped?  California

What smells the best when it’s in the oven?  Onions 

Favorite cookie or other bakery item?  Chocolate Chip Brioche

If you could be one thing in the bakery, what would you be and why?  I would be cookie dough, it’s pure and delicious! 

What’s your favorite song played at the bakery?  Nasty Boy by Janet Jackson

Cat or Dog?  Both, but I have 3 cats!

What’s your favorite color?  Orange

Make a statement that best defines you:  “Life is meant to be lived, enjoy!”

Meet the Crew: Kelsey

Name:  Kelsey

What’s your sign?  Taurus

Where are you from originally?  Eugene, Oregon

How long have you lived in New York City?  3 months

How long have you been working at Levain Bakery?  almost 5 months

What brought you to NYC and the bakery?  A change of pace, nearby family, and all of the little things that make New York, New York.

What’s your favorite thing at the bakery:

To eat?  I have yet to try everything, but so far it would have to be the Oatmeal Raisin Scones.

To do?  Dance about.

If you could be a cookie package, where would you want to be shipped?  Valparaíso, Chile

What smells the best when it’s in the oven?  The breads

Favorite cookie or other bakery item?  The always delicious Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookie.

If you could be one thing in the bakery, what would you be and why?  A whisk.  I bet they have a good sense of humor. 

What’s your favorite song played at the bakery?  Anything by Marvin Gaye- he always gets me groovin’.

Cat or Dog?  Both

What’s your favorite color?  Midnight Blue

Make a statement that best defines you:  “It’s better to help people than garden gnomes”-Amélie

Meet the Crew: Hollie

Name:  Hollie Matlin

What’s your sign?  Scorpio 

Where are you from originally?  Philadelphia, PA 

How long have you lived in New York City?  19 years 

How long have you been working at Levain Bakery?  1 week

What brought you to NYC and the bakery?  I moved to NY with my family and came to the bakery because of the intoxicating sugar/butter/chocolate smell. 

What’s your favorite thing at the bakery:

To eat?  Pumpkin Spice Loaf 

To do?  Measure out 6 oz. of dough/ play with dough.

If you could be a cookie package, where would you want to be shipped?  Florence. 

What smells the best when it’s in the oven?  Olive and Goat Cheese Pizza. 

If you could be one thing in the bakery, what would you be and why?  I would be a mixer, I’d get to play in everything. 

What’s your favorite song played at the bakery?  Anything by Abba.

Cat or Dog?  Dog

What’s your favorite color?  Blue

Meet the Crew: Francisco

Name:  Francisco Ventura

What’s your sign?  Virgo 

Where are you from originally?  Mexico

How long have you lived in New York City?  16 years

How long have you been working at Levain Bakery?  3 months

What brought you to NYC and the bakery?  Work.

What’s your favorite thing at the bakery:

To eat?  Cookies

To do?  Make cookies.

What smells the best when it’s in the oven?  Cookies.

Favorite cookie or other bakery item?  Bag of cookies.  Basket of cookies.

What’s your favorite song played at the bakery?  None of them.

Cat or Dog? Dog

What’s your favorite color?  White

Make a statement that best defines you:  “Limpio trabajado y honorable.”  “Clean, hardworking, and honest.”

Meet the Crew: Eryn

Name:  Eryn

What’s your sign?  Scorpio 

Where are you from originally?  Colorado

How long have you lived in New York City?  3+ years

How long have you been working at Levain Bakery?  2 months

What brought you to NYC and the bakery?  I went to pastry school and want to be a baker.

What’s your favorite thing at the bakery:

To eat?  Warm Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies

To do?  Mix cookies.

If you could be a cookie package, where would you want to be shipped?  France

What smells the best when it’s in the oven?  Banana Cake 

Favorite cookie or other bakery item?  Banana Cake

If you could be one thing in the bakery, what would you be and why?  I would be Bomboloncini, so I would have a jam filled center. 

What’s your favorite song played at the bakery?  Don’t Get Me Wrong by The Pretenders

Cat or Dog?  I have a cat, but love both.

What’s your favorite color?  Green

Make a statement that best defines you:  “First impressions can be deceiving.”

Meet the Crew: Elise

Name: Elise

What’s your sign?  Virgo

Where are you from originally?  Raleigh, NC

How long have you lived in New York City?  One year and 3 months!

How long have you been working at Levain Bakery?  Since May, 2009.

What brought you to NYC and the bakery?  Graduate school to study vocal performance.  I came to the bakery because I love, love, love to eat.

What’s your favorite thing at the bakery:

To eat?  Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

To do?  Bug Connie 🙂

If you could be a cookie package, where would you want to be shipped?  The outerbanks of NC.  There’s nothing better than reading a book by the beach and playing games when it rains.

What smells the best when it’s in the oven?  Ugh-scones! Soo good.

Favorite cookie or other bakery item?  See above.

If you could be one thing in the bakery, what would you be and why?  The coffee machine- because its gets alot of attention.  NO really, anything but a cookie because I’d like a longer life-span.

What’s your favorite song played at the bakery?  Tina Turner- Private Dancer

Cat or Dog?  Dog

What’s your favorite color?  I don’t pick favorites.

Make a statement that best defines you:  “I don’t make self-defining statements”. 

 

Meet the Crew: Diana

Name:  Diana Forman

What’s your sign?  Capricorn 

Where are you from originally?  Germantown, NY

How long have you lived in New York City?  1.25 years

How long have you been working at Levain Bakery?       2 months

What brought you to NYC and the bakery?  The prospects of success in the big city and making delicious things with fun people.

What’s your favorite thing at the bakery:

To eat?  Whole Wheat Raisin Walnut Rolls

To do?  Make delicious things.

If you could be a cookie package, where would you want to be shipped?  Paisley Park, the White House, the Taj Mahal

What smells the best when it’s in the oven?  The pizzas.  Everything.

Favorite cookie or other bakery item?  Warm Oatmeal Raisin Cookies…man oh man.

If you could be one thing in the bakery, what would you be and why?  I would be a Walnut Sticky Bun – I’d have Monday through Friday off and Oprah would give me props and make me famous. 

What’s your favorite song played at the bakery?  The weird one that starts “Brothers and Sisters… Brothers and Sisters…”

Cat or Dog?  Dog!  But I just got a kitten named Trudy two days ago.

What’s your favorite color?  Black, of course.

Make a statement that best defines you:  “Not that bigguva deal!”

We Now Accept Credit Cards

We are very happy to announce that we now accept Visa, MasterCard, and American Express cards at our New York City location.  Now everyone can come down and grab a cookie without having to hit the bank first.