Levain Bakery
Levain Bakery is a staple of New York City’s Upper West Side, and has been since it opened its doors in 1995. The store is located just near the corner of West 74th Street and Columbus Avenue, in the heart of the Upper West Side. The space of the store itself is very small, which lends itself to long lines of patrons, even at off-peak times. The menu is also small, with the vast majority of customers waiting to try Levain’s famous cookies, which come in four varieties: oatmeal raisin, chocolate chip walnut, dark chocolate chip and dark chocolate peanut butter chip. The most popular cookie is the chocolate chip walnut, which is the best cookie I’ve had in my life — and many others feel the same way. I visited Levain’s original location, although it has since opened a new location uptown and is planning to open a new location downtown this summer. In addition, Levain operates a seasonal location in the Hamptons.
When approaching the store, I could smell the scent of fresh cookies in the air from about half a block away, even before I saw the line for the store. I visited on a Friday afternoon, and the queue to enter the store was probably 20 people deep. That being said, it moves fairly quickly, due to the lack of seating space in the store, and the limited wares on offer. The crowd was probably 50% tourists, and 50% Upper West Siders buying cookies for their children as a Friday treat after the school week. I struck up a conversation with the lady in front of me from Australia, who was visiting New York for the first time with her family. Her daughter, who was a similar age to me, told her parents that she had discovered Levain’s cookies on Instagram and was determined to try them before heading back Down Under. Social media is a huge force in determining how successful a business can be. The popularity of Levain’s cookies amongst Instagram foodies and Yelp reviewers alike have led to the businesses success, despite its unseemly facade. Although Levain has become popular with tourists, the unorganised nature of the queueing system inside makes it feel like a more homely business.
Pictured above: The reflection of the queue to get into Levain Bakery, New York City