Levain Bakery is officially coming to Nashville. The New York institution behind what's routinely called the world's best cookie will open its first Music City location at 2901 12th Avenue South, taking over the corner space that housed neighborhood mainstay Burger Up for years.
Levain spent more than four years looking for the right Nashville home, and the founders are direct about why they held out. "We've wanted to bring Levain to Nashville for years, but for us the right location matters just as much as the bakery itself," said Pam Weekes and Connie McDonald, who founded the bakery in 1995. "The moment we walked into the space, we knew it was the one."
When Burger Up owner Jim Lewis decided to close the restaurant, he went looking for a successor who would preserve the space's role as a neighborhood gathering spot rather than simply take the lease. "Change is never easy, but I'm incredibly proud of what Burger Up has meant to this neighborhood and excited to see the space begin its next chapter," Lewis said. "I chose Levain because I believe they'll be thoughtful partners, wonderful neighbors and a great addition to the community we all love."
Weekes and McDonald started Levain as a small bread shop on the Upper West Side in 1995, baking six-ounce cookies with simple, high-quality ingredients as a post-race treat while training for triathlons. The cookies outran the bread. Thirty years and 19 locations later, the crispy-outside, gooey-inside chocolate chip walnut has become one of the most recognizable pastries in America.
Nashville will get the full package — chocolate chip walnut, oatmeal raisin, dark chocolate peanut butter chip and the rest, alongside hot and iced coffee and tea, freshly baked pastries, artisanal breads, loaf cakes, sandwiches on house-baked baguettes, and rotating seasonal offerings. The company also plans to hire from the neighborhood's hospitality talent pool, pursue local partnerships, and donate opening day proceeds to a nearby nonprofit.