Bakery to open new location in Westport
WESTPORT — A new bakery will soon be coming to town.
Max London’s parents built the famed Mrs. London’s Bakery in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., in 1977. Now as the owner of the family business, London plans to expand the family name even further and make Westport its second location.
London said that while he and his team searched for a viable location for the business, they fell in love with Westport. He said the Westport location at 44 Church Lane will be set to open in the next couple weeks.
“The downtown area really drew us to Westport,” London said. “The community seems great and it’s just a beautiful area.”
He said they were trying to keep the bakery’s second location within a three-hour drive of the original spot.
“Westport is kind of right on the edge of that,” he said. “We landed here because we love it here. It just seems right.”
London’s parents, Wendy and Michael, met at a New York City bakery before moving upstate to began their original location on Phila Street in 1977. London said there were many perks to essentially being raised in that shop.
“I literally grew up in that bakery,” London said. “I got to see everything first hand and I got to taste everything first hand.”
London’s parents closed the bakery around 1985 to focus on consulting and making bread at their Rock Hill Bakehouse, which they started in their farmhouse kitchen.
He said his parents supplied bread to all of the best restaurants in New York City and consulted for Whole Foods. During the late 1990s, the Londons made their return to the bakery and reopened Mrs. London’s Bakery on Broadway in Saratoga, where it has stayed since.
London said they decided to expand because they want to share their baked goods with even more people.
“We take a lot of pride in what we do still with making everything from scratch and by hand still,” London said. “That’s not really being done a lot any more.”
He said he’s seen a lot of businesses outsource their baked goods.
“I think that differentiates us,” he said. “We’re still making things from scratch. Our team does a great job at believing that and taking it serious and we have a passion for that. We want to spread the love of baking and good food and expand.”
London said the Westport location is slightly smaller than their New York location, but that makes the business more efficient. He said they will be able to make more menu items because they have two sites. They’ll also be able to make items like specialty cakes in Saratoga and deliver them to Westport.
Some of the go-to favorites on the sweet side of the menu include the almond croissants, chocolate croissants, pecan danishes, cheese danishes and the chocolate chip cookies. On the savory side, the bacon, ham and cheese quiche and the tuna salad on a croissant sandwich top the list of customer favorites.
“Another one is Mom’s creamy tomato soup,” London said. “Everyone can’t get enough of that.”
London said it has taken nearly a year to find and open the Westport location, however, as they sit on the cusp of their grand opening, he is more than excited.
“It means a lot having my family name on a business, my mom’s name,” he said. “They were the face of the business for a long time and I’m carrying that on. I take a lot of pride in doing that and it’s really important to me.”