The line snaked across the parking lot toward the heavy traffic of York Boulevard and around the corner, wrapping around the patio of a neighboring seafood restaurant. Guests began lining up for Fondry, Eagle Rock's newest bakery, a half hour before it opened its doors, but today only a few dozen guests were able to sample croissants, croffins or Danish pastries.
The pastries from the team behind nearby cafes Kumquat and Loquat are proving to be some of the most sought after in Los Angeles, recalling the clamor and pastry craze of former Konbi and Dominique Ansel (inventor of the Cronut).
The new bakery debuted last weekend and operates only three days a week, Friday to Sunday, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., although in its first days of operation Fondry has sold out between 45 and 90 minutes after opening its doors. doors. Led by baker and partner Ivy Ku, the menu focuses solely on laminated pastries that layer cold-fermented dough to form ham and cheese croissants; pistachio cream puffs; yuzu meringue croffins or croissant muffins; sausage rolls with mustard; kouign-amann; triple chocolate pain; and other French classics and their variations, which can be combined with a reduced selection of coffee with milk and cold beer.
Ivy Ku always wanted to open her own bakery. Now, with Fondry, she is selling between 150 and 200 pies in about an hour.
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
“I had always been thinking about opening my own bakery, but I had some doubts. [to] I have to do everything myself,” Ku said. “So it's a great opportunity to have someone who is already in this industry.”
Ku met Kumquat and Loquat owners Scott Sohn and Andres Jinhan “AJ” Kim through a mutual friend, who recommended her for the role in 2022. She was already a Kumquat regular and they clicked instantly. Her husband, Travis Chan, joined the team to help oversee the company's operations.
Ku studied pastry making at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris for about a year, then worked at a small boutique in Paris before returning home to Hong Kong. While there, she worked for world-famous pastry chef Dominique Ansel in his Hong Kong cafe and also began teaching baking classes. When he moved to Los Angeles with Chan, it wasn't long before his pastry expertise reached Sohn and Kim.
Currently, the team offers between 150 and 200 cakes each day, made from two rounds of baking, one at 6 a.m. and another shortly before 9 a.m. Eventually, Ku would like to expand her offering with muffins, tarts , financiers and other French style cakes and delicacies. .
During its first weekend, Ku said, the fondry sold out in about an hour. Today, starting its second weekend, the cakes sold out in 45 minutes. The line, Ku said, started forming around 8:30 a.m. this morning.
Some met with dogs, others with couples, talking about the pastries they were waiting to try. One customer, who had been waiting in line with a baby for about half an hour, gave up before the inevitable announcement: all the cakes for the day had been sold.
Another customer, who didn't receive a croissant, laughed that at least her dog got to taste a piece of croissant that had fallen on the floor.
“I wasn't that familiar with how many people were coming,” Ku said. “We are trying to increase the number this week as well.”
Storage, he said, has been an issue in keeping up with demand, but as Fondry grows, he also hopes to increase days of operation, which means more croissants, more opportunities to enjoy them and perhaps fewer lines around the store. block.
Fondry, 4703 York Blvd., Los Angeles. instagram.com/fondry_la
