Inside Clark Street, LA’s Great New Bakery Destination

The flour bags are stacked and the oven is on at Clark Street Bread & Pastry, the much-anticipated bakery at the edge of Echo Park and Historic Filipinotown. There’s wholesale work to be done in the back and a cafe to manage up front, and owner Zack Hall is ready to get to work.

Hall’s dream of opening a commercial retail space with a consumer-facing cafe has taken years to come together, though the ups and downs of the place have been largely out of his capable hands. The bakery was first announced back in 2016, but construction delays and redevelopment of the entire property, which now houses wood-fired pizza restaurant Gra, yoga studio One Down Dog, and more, have kept Clark Street from becoming a reality until now.

In the intervening years Hall has continued to ascend as one of the city’s most well-respected wholesale bakers, while also opening up a kiosk at Grand Central Market in 2014 and, earlier this year, a standalone cafe down on Sunset in Echo Park proper. This new facility brings all of Hall’s sensibilities together under one tall roof, with a cafe area up front serving Devoción Coffee, loads of pastries and takeaway breads, and a savory cooking side that includes omelettes, quiche, bagels with lox, and more.

The space itself is compact but comfortable, with a wide patio area up front filled with brick touches and lots of greenery. There’s a communal table just inside, and room to peek into the back to catch the baking in action. Clark Street Bread and Pastry officially starts up on Monday morning, working hours from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily.

Clark Street Bread & Pastry. 331 Glendale Blvd., Los Angeles.

• 16 Essential Bread Bakeries in Los Angeles [ELA]