Pastry’s New Era: Inside NYC’s Post-Pandemic Bakery Renaissance

On any given morning, lines stretch down the block outside both Brooklyn locations of Radio Bakery. The Greenpoint shop opened in 2023, followed by the Prospect Heights outpost earlier this year. Co-owner Kelly Mencin, formerly a pastry chef at Rolo’s and Gramercy Tavern, also worked under Thomas Keller before striking out on her own. She’s not alone—many new bakery owners in New York come from the world of fine dining.

Why Pastry Chefs Are Leaving Fine Dining to Bake on Their Own Terms

When Miro Uskokovic and his wife Shilpa opened their bakery, Hani’s, near Astor Place last year, it marked the culmination of a long-held dream. Uskokovic had made desserts at some of New York’s most respected restaurants, including Jean-Georges, Aldea, Untitled, and Gramercy Tavern, where he spent a decade as executive pastry chef. But he still craved something more.

“In my 20s and 30s, I enjoyed the trail of working in a restaurant, I loved plating desserts. But at a point in life, as you age, you want some space, stability. And I also wanted something of my own,” says Uskokovic. “Working in restaurants is great, but you’re always working for someone. Being a pastry chef, you just have one or two courses, and you’ll never start. You’re like the best friend in the movie, always the supporting role.”

The Limits of Restaurant Kitchens for Pastry Talent

Mahira Rivers, a food journalist and critic with a newsletter dedicated to New York City’s dessert scene, makes it her mission to visit new bakeries as soon as they open.

“All chefs are, at their core, creatives with a desire to share their creations with others. But pastry chefs are usually tucked away in a restaurant’s kitchen (or, more often, basement) and there is a limit to their upward movement within a restaurant, where an executive chef typically gets most of the credit,” says Rivers. “So, branching out on their own is a chance for a pastry chef to really shine. It’s also a chance for them to create freely, without the limitations of a restaurant concept to adhere to.”

Miro and Shilpa—currently an editor at Bon Appétit—were both laid off during the pandemic, which prompted them to consider their next move. In 2021, they wrote a business plan, began searching for a location, and eventually opened Hani’s without investors. Years spent working in restaurants helped prepare them for the process.

“When I joined Gramercy Tavern, I made it clear that I wanted to be part of every conversation and I wanted a seat in every room, to learn and to experience,” says Uskokovic. “I wanted to be in the financial meeting, in the forecast meeting, in the PR meeting—I wanted to learn everything. I wanted to know, who’s our waste company? How are we handling that, cleaning grease?”

When it came time to run their own shop, Miro and Shilpa approached each detail with intention and insight. They even infused the space with fine dining flair—modern lighting and fresh flower arrangements on the counter.

“When we first opened, I would go to Wegmans and get tulips. Then we realized, when we started doing these arrangements, that people started taking photos. And that’s a big draw at Gramercy Tavern, too.” Now, Shilpa does a new arrangement every Friday.

Dominique Ansel, formerly executive pastry chef at Daniel for six years, opened Dominique Ansel Bakery in Soho in 2011—and most recently launched Papa D’Amour near Union Square. More than a decade later, he still draws on the fine dining values instilled at Daniel.

“Working at Daniel taught me a lot about the guest experience and service standards. You understand that every part of the meal—the ambiance, the service, the presentation—it all matters, even if you’re serving something as simple as a croissant,” says Ansel. “I think the minute you work in fine dining, you see guests and service differently for the rest of your life.”

How the Pandemic Sparked a Bakery Boom in NYC

New York City is in the midst of a bakery renaissance, with new shops opening from pastry chefs, bakers, and food entrepreneurs of all kinds. In the five years since the pandemic, the city has seen a boom in high-quality bakeries—dozens of them slinging fresh bread, ultra-flaky croissants, and wildly inventive creations that continue to push the category forward. The movement builds on momentum first sparked when Dominique Ansel unleashed the cronut on Manhattan (and the world) in 2013.

When the pandemic shuttered New York City restaurants in March 2020, pastry chefs were often the first to be let go—viewed as expendable in kitchens where desserts could be simplified or swapped for a scoop of ice cream. Some pivoted to new careers, while others joined the wave of home-based baking projects that took off across the city. Even after restaurants reopened, many pastry chefs weren’t rehired, giving them the space—and the push—they needed to pursue long-held or newly sparked dreams of opening their own bakeries.

“On the supply side, the pandemic lowered the barriers to entry for so many bakers and pastry chefs who started their own cottage and pop-up projects after being laid off from their restaurant jobs,” says Rivers. “Once they built up an audience and effectively market-tested a concept, it was much easier to move into an actual brick-and-mortar space.”

Luckily, New Yorkers were also ready to consume and support these new businesses, and the bakery industry is thriving—as evidenced by those lines. “I think people have really leaned into the culture of little treats after the turbulence of the pandemic,” says Rivers. “[Pastries] are relatively affordable daily indulgences, and for the most part—as we’re living in a golden era of amazing quality and diversity in pastry—it’s not hard to find something that will be really delicious.”

Bakeries often give pastry chefs more creative freedom—especially those previously restricted by the ultra-refined expectations of fine dining. Renata Ameni, formerly executive pastry chef for Kent Hospitality—overseeing dessert programs at Crown Shy, Saga, and Overstory—found the opportunity to experiment more at her new bakery, Birdee (think churro croissants and pistachio and cherry milk breads). Located on the Williamsburg waterfront and part of Kent Hospitality, Birdee opened in April. Ameni stepped down from her executive role to fully focus on the bakery. She found herself actively unlearning some of her fine dining instincts, easing away from hyper-attentive service to better suit a fast-casual environment. She also quickly realized that plated desserts are a world apart from baked goods.

“I’m not a real baker, I’m a pastry chef, and it’s different,” says Ameni. “It was a lot of trial and error. I tried millions of croissant laminations. Even a simple thing, like a blueberry muffin, took me eight tries.” (For the record, the blueberry muffin is incredible.)

Still, some of her plated dessert creations helped shape Birdee’s offerings. The strawberry Danish, for instance, evolved from a tart she made at Crown Shy—reimagined with fewer components and adapted into a handheld format.

From Side Hustle to Strategic Move: How Restaurants Are Expanding with Bakeries

Like Kent Hospitality with Birdee, other restaurant groups are expanding their portfolios with bakeries. Oxalis, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Prospect Heights, closed last year and reopened as the all-day Café Mado. Around the same time, the team launched Laurel Bakery in Red Hook, which now supplies pastries to Café Mado. Later this summer, 55 Hospitality—known for Thai standouts Fish Cheeks and Bangkok Supper Club—will debut Bub’s Bakery, a vegan and allergen-free concept. They’ve partnered with Melissa Weller, a seasoned restaurant baker best known for creating the bagels at Sadelle’s. Weller also served as head baker at Roberta’s and Per Se, and she’s eager to return to the ovens at Bub’s, where she’ll bring her full range of skills to bear.

“Personally, I prefer to work in a bakery setting, which may be due to the fact that I’m a morning person. Both a restaurant kitchen and bakery setting require you to work with a sense of urgency,” says Weller. “Putting finishing touches and garnishes on pastries is similar to plating desserts but different, and it requires a different visual skill.”

Baking as Cultural Expression: Showcasing Identity Through Pastry

Another appeal of opening a bakery, for many pastry chefs, is the opportunity to express their cultural heritage—something not always encouraged within someone else’s restaurant. Lauren Tranh, formerly of Gramercy Tavern, launched Banh by Lauren to spotlight her Vietnamese treats. Zoe Kanan, who previously worked for Altamarea Group and Major Food Group, draws inspiration from her Jewish heritage at her Lower East Side bakery, Elbow Bread. At Papa D’Amour, Ansel pays tribute to his wife’s Taiwanese background and his own French roots with creations like a taro and mochi lace batter donut and a red bean butter croissant bao. Uskokovic, who is Serbian, and his wife Shilpa, who is Indian, also bring their backgrounds to bear on American classics, like halva and pistachio Rice Krispie treats.

At Birdee, Ameni features items from her Brazilian upbringing that she’d never previously had the chance to make—like brigadeiros and alfajores. She’s also embracing the independence that comes with being the head chef.

“James [Kent] always treated me as an equal,” says Ameni. “But here, I have a bit more freedom. If I see, like, a really good Sungold tomato at the market, I can just make a Sungold tomato danish. I don’t have to go through the whole thing of, hey, can we put this on the menu?”