Wednesdays to Sundays just before 9:00 a.m., a line of customers winds through a small strip mall on York Boulevard. Nestled between a seafood restaurant and a specialty grocery store is the prize awaiting the queued hopefuls: the bakery Fondry and its pastries.
Fondry, located at 4703 York Blvd., opened April 2024. According to LA Eater, the bakery was founded by AJ Kim and Scott Sohn, the duo behind the cafes Kumquat, also on York Boulevard, and Loquat, in Cypress Park.
At Fondry, bakers recreate classics like croissants, pain au chocolat and kouign-amann. The menu also features a host of specialty items and reimagined pastries, including cruffins and danishes.
Regular customer Saunder Choi said he heard about Fondry’s opening just after moving to the area.
“I’m generally a fan of French pastry, so I kind of keep my eye out,” he said.
Choi said he also learned about Fondry through social media.
“Fondry keeps popping up on Instagram,” Choi said. “It keeps popping up on LA Eater, which I follow a lot and get a lot of inspiration from.”
Kate Reinhard (senior) also said she first discovered Fondry on Instagram.
“[Fondry is] connected to Kumquat down the street, and when I found out that they were [opening] a bakery, I was like, ‘Yes, I want to go,’” Reinhard said.
Outside Fondry, signs display the bakery’s menu reminding patrons that there is currently a three-pastry limit per customer. Inside, pastries, as well as cookies, biscuits and other baked goods are arranged in rows behind a glass display where apron-clad employees place croissants into boxes for customers. The bakery also features an espresso menu with coffee from Loquat and a small selection of charcuterie-board materials, including cured meats, nuts, grainy mustard and digestifs.
Lila Feder (sophomore) said she has a long-standing passion for baking. At home in New York last summer, Feder worked for a local bakery. There, she was quickly given a lot of responsibility, Feder said.
“I basically learned the entire croissant-making process kind of by accident,” Feder said. “It’s just become a somewhat random set of specialized skills that I have.”
When she heard about Fondry, Feder said that it was a simple decision to apply.
“I feel like I would be remiss if I didn’t try to work there after learning how to do it all,” Feder said.
Feder has been employed at Fondry since February and currently works as back-of-house staff three days a week.
According to Feder, everything at Fondry is made in house. Feder said her responsibilities focus on prep-work for the baking process, including working with the dough, preparing the croissants for baking and making fillings for cakes.
Almost all of Fondry’s offerings feature laminated pastry in some form, which creates the signature airy, flaky layers of croissants. Choi said Fondry’s lamination work is key to the bakery’s success.
“I think [the key is] quality,” Choi said. “As with any laminated pastry, it’s the quality of butter they use. It’s very obvious from the product [they make] that they use good quality butter.”
Of Fondry’s current offerings, Feder said her favorite sweet croissant is the yuzu cruffin, which features a tart yuzu filling and is topped with a whorl of toasted meringue.
Feder also said she likes Fondry’s latest addition to the menu, a savory croissant called the Baker’s Breakfast with ham, egg, caramelized onions and béchamel sauce.
According to Feder, working at Fondry gave her a window into the development of this newest pastry.
“What’s really cool about Fondry and my position is that I work pretty close with the chef, and so I get an insight on the recipe development,” Feder said. “That kind of came up accidentally, and I got to be part of that recipe testing process, which is awesome.”
According to Reinhard, Fondry has retained a city-wide popularity since its opening.
“There were these girls from UCLA who were here because they heard about it and they were standing in line in front of me,” Reinhard said. “And I was like, ‘Wow, you drove all the way across LA to get this, and we’re right here.’”
Fondry’s viral pastries have spread online and across the city, and according to Feder, the bakery has an impact on the local community as well.
“Fondry has only been open for a year, but even within that year I feel like they’ve been very well perceived and the community seems very excited to have them here,” Feder said. “Having them hire me kind of says something about their willingness to collaborate with people who are within the community.”
This story is one in a series about coffee shops around Eagle Rock.
Contact Molly Malin at mmalin@oxy.edu
