Scandinavian Bakery Binge In NYC As Smor Bakery Opens Its Third Location
It's not just French bakers that have taken New York City by storm; now several Scandinavian bakeries from Sweden and Denmark are flourishing.
Smor Bakery, with Danish roots, opened its third location in Williamsburg in late June after its flagship East Village and Clinton Hill spots, Fabrique Bakery from Sweden has 2 locations, a busy one near the Meatpacking district and another near the Empire State Building, and Ole & Steen, a Danish bakery, is the largest, having grown to 5 locations throughout Manhattan.
Smor Bakery and Test Kitchen's new Williamsburg location is 3,000 square feet and contains a retail bakery, café, shop and testing kitchen.
Why has Danish baking taken off in NYC? Several reasons, explains Sebastian Bangsgaard, a classically trained chef from Copenhagen, who co-runs Smor Bakery with his partner, Sebastian Perez, who might be called the two Sebastian's. He says restaurant pioneers with world-class reputations such as Noma and Geranium put Danish cooking on the global map.
This spirit of innovation in restaurants in Denmark filters down to other sectors, like bakeries, he suggests. And Danish spices such as cinnamon, cardamon, and nutmeg have been part of its culture since the Middle Ages. Hence Danes love a simple BMO, Danish for a roll with cheese and whipped butter. Both Sebastian's are native Danes who met as line cooks at Copenhagen's restaurant in Tribeca.
Bangsgaard and Perez were extremely enterprising when launching their initial Smor Bakery on East 12th Street in the East Village in 2019. They tapped a mere $1,000 of their savings and combined that with a $40,000 loan to open. Candid Bangsgaard admits that 'We weren't ready, but we opened because we had to.'
The East Village spot has two storefronts, one for the bakery and one for the restaurant. They grabbed at the second spot, which during the Covid epidemic, was offered at below-market rent. Perez notes that obtaining leases on side streets, not First Avenue or Second Avenue in the case of the East Village, made for 'lower rents and help us stand out, and create a quieter more calming atmosphere.'
When the duo opened their second eatery in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn in 2023, they drew predominantly from cash flow, pouring their profits into expansion, helped by a small debt investment from an original backer.
Their third location has a different name, Smor Bakery & Test Kitchen, because its Williamsburg test kitchen is where it's 'developing and perfecting everything before it's introduced in our bakeries or restaurant locations, not just baked good and breads, but also savory dishes and beverages,' explains Bangsgaard.
Hence, he says, it's testing out 'new condiments, pickling and fermenting various veggies, expanding our bread program, with loaves made using grains like Einkorn and Banko rye and options like dark chocolate sourdough, olive loaves and vegetable infused breads.'
For example, it recently tested a wild-rose raspberry swirl, which did well with guests and is now offered in its East Village bakery.
Perez says that its affordable pricing, trendy design and menu have enabled it to attract a larger, younger, demographic of guests mostly aged 20 to 40, which reflects the make-up of the East Village located near Cooper Union, NYU, and the New School.
What's next for Smor Bakery? Perez says it's looking to expand their baking operations, including opening additional locations in 'emerging neighborhoods around the city, without saturating the market. He says they'd also like to move into consumer-packaged goods and bottle some of its signature sauces, such as its remoulade. Lastly, they're looking into opening in Washington, D.C. in the next few years.
The two partners own 80% of the business and have expanded it with mostly their own capital. 'We should be able to scale it with our own finances,' Bangsgaard points out. 'It's all about making the right deal,' he notes.
He describes the keys to its continued success as: 1) Remaining cool and not becoming too corporate, 2) Continue to hire people who are affable and welcoming and training them right, 3) Sustaining its innovative design.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Shake Shack to accelerate restaurant openings
You can find original article here Nrn. Subscribe to our free daily Nrn newsletter. Shake Shack is putting restaurant openings into overdrive, with 80-90 units slated to open this year, executives reported Thursday in their earnings call for the second quarter, ended June 24. The New York City-based fast-casual chain started the year with 574 units globally, meaning that if it achieves its goal, it will expand its footprint by between 14% and 15.7%. With more than half of those new restaurants, 45-50, being company-owned, that would be 'our largest class on record,' chief financial officer Katie Fogertey told investors. 'And we are already deep in the work to open even more shacks next year.' At the beginning of the year, chief executive officer Rob Lynch had set a goal of reaching a total of 1,500 domestic, company-owned restaurants, and he has been working to create operational efficiencies to make that happen. As a result, for the quarter, the restaurant-level profit margin improved by 190 basis points to 23.9% and same-store sales were up by 1.8%, the 18th consecutive quarter of comparable sales growth. The chain opened 13 company-owned restaurants, including two drive-thrus, bringing the total to 46. Nine licensed restaurants opened during the quarter. Lynch stressed that the same-store sales growth for this quarter was much less dependent on price increases than last year, when comps for the year were 3.6% but pricing was up by 7%. For this quarter, the nearly 2% increase was achieved on around a 3% price increase. 'We are building a different, more sustainable, value-enhancing model that still delivers the premium experience that sets us apart,' Lynch said. 'We're doing … the heavy lifting to be able to compete in good times and bad,' he added, sustaining growth even when customer sensitivity to raising prices makes that an impractical lever to pull. 'We're building a model that can sustain itself and drive consistent traffic growth moving forward,' he added. 'And that's all around the culinary innovation and the marketing that we're putting behind it.' He also said that improved operations were improving guest satisfaction scores, which would improve traffic. Indeed, though traffic was down by 70 basis points for the quarter, it improved sequentially each month and turned positive toward the end of the quarter and into July, 'driven by successful marketing activations, operational improvements, compelling menu innovation, and further improving the guest experience,' Fogertey told investors. That menu innovation includes the launch in late April of a barbecue menu, available through summer, of burgers and fried chicken sandwiches with a choice of two sauces — a traditional smoky-tangy variety and a South Carolina-style mustard-based sauce — as well as the permanent addition of fried pickles. And for July, that innovation included the June 24 launch of the Dubai Chocolate Pistachio Shake, which is being sold for around $9.99. That's about $3 more than regular shakes, reflecting premium ingredients such as pistachio paste and toasted kataifi, and operational complexity, such as hand-painting dark chocolate shells on the inside of cups and freezing them, Fogertey told NRN. She added that they're selling well. 'We surprise [our customers] with so much care and so much thought that goes into these products,' she said, adding that same-store sales for fiscal July, ending on the 23rd of the month, were up 3.2%. 'Some of that was helped by the Dubai Shake,' she said. 'However, we also had broad strength across our portfolio,' including the barbecue menu. 'We also had a nice benefit from operational improvements and merchandising improvements on how we're showing up at the (ordering) kiosks,' she added. Lynch said that, as the chain grows, it will use its added financial muscle to advertise more. 'With our increased scale, we are in the initial stages of testing a paid media component of our business model,' he said. We expect to realize the full potential of this brand by clearly defining how Shake Shack is different than fast food and bringing that to life in every market we compete in. 'As a company, we've historically underinvested in advertising versus many of our larger peers,' he added, 'and while Shake Shack sales growth has been positive for many quarters now, this (lack of advertising) has been a limiting factor to achieving our true potential. 'Moving forward, we will support our amazing culinary offerings with traffic-driving media. This has never been the case for Shake Shack. We have historically relied on our word-of-mouth promotions and other bottom-of-the-funnel marketing initiatives to drive traffic.' Those initiatives started last week with paid media promoting the Dubai shake and an ongoing promotion of $1 soda, of any size, when ordered via the app. Fogertey told NRN that the marketing has included out-of-home advertising, paid social media, and TV spots intended to reach new guests as well as remind existing guests of what's on offer. She said the $1 soda promotion has been particularly successful, resulting not only in an increase in app downloads, but also in steady sales despite the discounted drink. 'The average spend with these dollar soda tickets is actually on par, sometimes even slightly better, than our overall average ticket,' she said. And once they're using the app, the chain can engage with customers more personally. 'Those app users are at the highest lifetime value,' she said. 'We are able to provide our digital version of 'Enlightened Hospitality' through that channel,' she said, referring to the service approach of Shake Shack founder Danny Meyer. Industry-wide, digital orders also tend to be higher than other orders. Another innovation is underway at Shake Shack's 46 drive-thru locations, which now all have combo meals, something the chain started testing last year and rolled out during the first quarter of 2025. Lynch said the combo meals weren't an attempt to discount, although he said they did improve value perception. Rather, they allow for faster delivery and improved order accuracy. 'We see potential for combos to drive throughput and frequency,' Lynch said. Although the current focus on menu innovation is on the barbecue line and the Dubai shakes, Lynch said the chain has an 18-month culinary innovation calendar that's 'locked and loaded.' Without going into specifics, Fogertey told NRN there was a lot to look forward to in menu innovation. 'Once Dubai Shake is over, we are going to come with brand new innovation on our sandwiches, we have new innovation coming on sides. We've got some very exciting new products never before seen at Shake Shack,' she said. As for financial guidance for the rest of the year, Fogertey said same-store sales were expected to be in the low single digits. For the third quarter, she anticipates opening 20-25 restaurants — 13-16 company-owned and 7-9 licensed. Revenue is expected to rise between 13% and 15% to $358 million to $364 million, with a profit margin up 100-150 basis points to 22%-22.5%. For the year, margins are expected to be up by around 110 basis points to 22.5% on total revenue of $1.4 billion to $1.5 billion. Contact Bret Thorn at Related Articles Shake Shack is testing combo meals and desserts at select locations Shake Shack's Dubai Chocolate Pistachio Shake to roll out nationwide June 24
Fox News
6 hours ago
- Fox News
NYC shooting victim's daughter delivers tearful eulogy at funeral: 'Never imagined this happening'
Speaking to hundreds of mourners on Thursday, the daughter of slain Blackstone executive Wesley LePatner delivered a tearful eulogy as her mother was laid to rest after she was shot to death in the lobby of her New York City office building earlier this week. "My mom was like my rock," the 14-year-old told the congregation at Central Synagogue in Midtown Manhattan, according to the New York Post. LePatner was gunned down in the lobby of 345 Park Avenue on Monday after a man opened fire inside the office building, killing four people before taking his own life. "I went over this scenario a thousand times in my head, and I only thought it would happen when I was older," the teen said. The heartfelt tribute continued, with LePatner's tearful daughter describing her anguish. "I never imagined this happening when I was 14," she said. "It's just unimaginable that this actually happened. I keep thinking it's a prank or like a lucid dream, and that someone's going to jump out and say, 'Ha, ha. It was all a joke.' The 43-year-old and her husband, Evan LePatner, have two children together. The pair met at Yale University, according to the New York Post. "How does the husband of a giant like Wesley possibly capture her in a short eulogy?" he asked mourners. "There's a huge, gaping Mount Everest-sized hole in my life right now," the grieving husband said. "I know everyone here has different-sized versions of it from her loss." LePatner worked as the chief executive officer of Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust, according to the company's website. "It is overwhelming and awesome all at once," her husband said. "It speaks to the supernatural abilities Wesley had and the way she made the world better for all of us." LePatner's father, Larry Mittman, remembered that his newborn daughter seemed "to have the most intelligent eyes that I have ever seen." "I held Wesley in my arms with these two huge eyes, looking not only at me, but looking around the delivery room," Mittman said. "And it was almost like a periscope circling the room." LePatner previously served on the UJA-Federation of New York board with Merryl Tisch, the mother of NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, who referred to LePatner as her "beautiful friend" at a vigil earlier this week, the Post reported. Three additional victims – NYPD Police Officer Didarul Islam, security guard Aland Etienne and a Rudin employee – were also remembered at services throughout the city following their deaths. LePatner's daughter spoke about the scope of her loss, telling those gathered, "Every time I hear the doorbell ring I think it's her, and I get excited. I just miss her so much."
CBS News
6 hours ago
- CBS News
NYC Interborough Express enters design phase for Brooklyn-Queens light rail
The Interborough Express, New York City's first light rail system which would link Brooklyn and Queens, is another step closer to becoming a reality. Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Friday the project to build the nation's busiest light rail system has entered the engineering and design phase. Renderings provide a glimpse into the future of transit between two of New York's most-populated, yet underserved communities. "A clean, fast, 14-mile light rail line. A connection between Brooklyn and Queens like never before. We're calling it the Interborough Express, IBX," Hochul said. The plan has been discussed for more than 30 years. But it's now moving into the next phase. "This means a lot of planning is going to occur. Looking at the stations, tracks, vehicles, signals, so we can get shovels in the ground and make this become a reality," the governor said. Hochul approved $2.75 billion in funding for the project back in April. It's aimed at reducing the travel time between Brooklyn and Queens to 32 minutes for more than 1 million New Yorkers and other commuters. "One of the things I love best about this project is that we get to get more transit out of the infrastructure we have," MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said. The IBX light rail would extend from Sunset Park, Brooklyn, to Jackson Heights, Queens, with a total of 19 new stations connecting to 17 subway lines. They would be the first new transit stations in Brooklyn since 1948 and Queens since 1988. The MTA is now coming up with an underground design for Metropolitan Avenue in Queens to, hopefully, make the area less prone to delays. "I think it would be great because the commute sometimes gets a little busy," Louisa Brenya, of Queens, said. Diana Arboleda, of Jackson Heights, is all too familiar with the current lengthy and inconvenient ways to get to Brooklyn from her home. "It's a hassle," she said. "This would help me a lot because the commute is time consuming," Kasheen Buckner, of Brooklyn, said. IBX is expected to become the busiest light rail system in the country, with 48 million riders annually.
