Levain Bakery: A Story of Friendship, Community, and Cookies
Authored By Pamela Weekes, Connie McDonald, with Claudine Ko.
Levain Bakery Book
Levain Bakery Book
Created in celebration of our 30th anniversary, this book is a heartfelt memoir from our founders, Pam Weekes and Connie McDonald — the true story of how two friends built a small neighborhood bakery into a beloved New York institution through grit, risk-taking, and unwavering partnership. Blending personal stories, archival photographs, and custom illustrations, it's an inspiring read for anyone dreaming of building something of their own — or anyone who loves a great New York story.
10% of proceeds will be donated to Hot Bread Kitchen, an organization committed to creating economic opportunity through culinary job skills training.
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Step inside the book
Chapter 1
“(...) The first thing we needed to do was name the bakery. Connie had grabbed a bread-baking book on her way to meet our friend Cris Crisman, a fellow swimmer and graphic designer, who was helping us make a business card. From his place, they called Pam, who was at work. Connie began leafing through the glossary and stumbled upon the word “levain.”
“What does that mean?” Cris asked.
“It’s a French word for a sourdough starter,” Connie said.
We loved that it referred to both the French word for “yeast” and the Italian word for “rising.” It felt symbolic of our hopes for the business. Cris mocked it up, placing a stylized “Levain” over “Bakery.” The result was a perfect logo.
With our new cards and a price list, we started reaching out to restaurants and cafes, dropping off bread samples. We got some good accounts including the Hudson River Club and Moran’s in the World Financial Center and Delia's in the East Village. We offered about seven or eight different varieties of bread, such as rustic country loaves, seeded breads, and brioche. Our seeded semolina bread became an early hit. Connie would spend weekdays in the kitchen, often starting in the early hours of the morning to mix dough,shape, and bake. It was a labor-intensive and time-consuming process, with production taking up to three days from start to finish. We were committed to long, slow fermentation for optimal flavor. Meanwhile, Pam kept her day job to maintain a steady income stream, joining Connie in the evenings and on weekends. This arrangement allowed us to have some cash flow while we built our wholesale business.
Eventually the bakery demanded our full attention, and with mixed emotions, Pam approached Norma to say, “I’d like to take a leave of absence.” It felt like departing one dream job for another. There was no dramatic moment; instead, she tiptoed away, keeping bridges intact in case the bakery didn't succeed. We felt confident about our business skills, though simultaneously we were navigating uncharted territory. It was scary yet thrilling—we both recognized we had nothing to lose by pursuing this unexpected opportunity. When Norma later visited us at the bakery, her gesture touched Pam deeply. Her support meant a lot as we took this leap. Meanwhile, Pam waited a while before she told her parents. Her father was appalled. “You did what?” he said. “You left a good job with a paycheck and benefits to do what?!” It took her parents months to tell anyone.
The hours were long, but it didn’t feel that way; we loved every minute.We faced a lot of challenges including deliveries. We didn’t have a dedicated delivery vehicle at first, so we relied on Pam’s Renault. We’d load it up with fresh bread before sunrise and make our rounds. It was exhilarating to see our products making their way to customers. We were building something of our own.
Excerpted from Levain Bakery: A Story of Friendship, Community, and Cookies by Pamela Weekes and Connie McDonald, with Claudine Ko © Levain Bakery 2025. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Download a sneak peek recipe
Levain Raspberry Bomboloncini
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Levain Blueberry Muffin
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Claudine, Connie, and Pam in California February 2025
Press
Fox 5: Like it or Not Lunch Hour
Levain Bakery Celebrates 30 years of cookies & community
October 24, 2025
Watch Now (opens in new tab)Inc
Levain Founders on the Art of Baking a Business for the Long Haul by Diana Ransom
Connie McDonald and Pam Weekes came on to From the Ground Up to discuss their 30-year-old brand—and the cookie that started it all.
May 6, 2025
Watch Now (opens in new tab)Entrepreneur
They Used an Impulsive But Smart Strategy to Turn Their Small Business Into a Cult Brand
"They have published the most soulful book on business that I have ever read."
March 10, 2026
Read & Listen Now (opens in new tab)WGN9: Midday News
Levain Bakery: A Story of Friendship, Community and Cookies
November 6, 2025
Watch Now (opens in new tab)
Social Impact
10% of the proceeds of this book will be donated to Hot Bread Kitchen, an organization committed to creating economic opportunity through culinary job skills training and food entrepreneurship.
Chapter 2
"(...) We started making them regularly, priced at a more reasonable $1.75 apiece, and each tray continued to sell out, helping us meet our weekly growth goals. Business was picking up little by little. Then on Labor Day we received a note from the landlord of our Upper East Side apartment: He was tripling our rent. There was no way we could afford the increase, and we scrambled to find a new home. We were looking at places in the outer boroughs and panicking: How can we make this commute? How are we ever going to do this? But in true New York fashion, a solution appeared just when all seemed lost. A tip from a fellow swimmer at Columbia led us to our next apartment, a small duplex on West 76th Street owned by a couple who had just had a baby and wanted to move. We called it home for many years as the bakery grew.
We started making them regularly, priced at a more reasonable $1.75 apiece, and each tray continued to sell out, helping us meet our weekly growth goals. Business was picking up little by little. Then on Labor Day we received anote from the landlord of our Upper East Side apartment: He was tripling our rent. There was no way we could afford the increase, and we scrambled to find a new home. We were looking at places in the outer boroughs and panicking: How can we make this commute? How are we ever going to do this? But in true NewYork fashion, a solution appeared just when all seemed lost. A tip from a fellow swimmer at Columbia led us to our next apartment, a small duplex on West 76thStreet owned by a couple who had just had a baby and wanted to move. We called it home for many years as the bakery grew.
In fall 1997, a young writer named Amanda Hesser called to fact-checksome information about our bakery. It turns out she was working on a piece for The New York Times Wednesday Food section, which in the culinary world was universally understood as the most powerful press coverage one could dream of. The day the story came out, Connie walked to the newsstand on Broadway and 78th Street to pick up the paper. “Don’t buy it if it’s not good,” Pam said. Connie returned to the bakery with four copies.
Amanda described our “fat round cookies” as “what may possibly be the largest, most divine chocolate chip cookies in Manhattan,” “packed with walnut halves and chunks of chocolate,” and nearly as heavy as “grapefruit.” She also wrote about how we kept the cookies from spreading out flat, calling it our “secret.” In reality, we hadn’t thought of it as a secret at all—it was just how we'd always made them. The impact was immediate. Our phone started ringing incessantly, with calls coming in from as far as Texas, and we began contemplating shipping options.
Eventually, over the next few years and after some more press, lines began stretching three or four buildings down, people waiting patiently in all weather for a taste of what had become New York’s most famous cookie. At that time, the Zagatguide was the only rating system for New York City dining and was considered another media holy grail. Our Zagatrating shot up to 29 (out of 30), placing us alongside the culinary elite. It was surreal to see our humble bakery listed alongside white-tablecloth establishments.
Our tiny basement kitchen was barely equipped to handle our bread production, let alone the new demand for cookies. Yet there was something beautifully efficient about it, too. The same premium brand of flour that went into our breads found its way into the now-iconic cookies, with the same ovens baking both. A true bakery uses everything, wastes nothing.
Excerpted from Levain Bakery: A Story of Friendship, Community, and Cookies by Pamela Weekes and Connie McDonald, with Claudine Ko © Levain Bakery 2025. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
