When one door closes, another opens and it appears the old saying applies to ovens as well as opportunities with one bakery announcing its departure from Montana Ave. just as another opens.
Over the New Year holiday, Sweet Lady Jane announced it had closed all locations and ceased operations.
Founded by Jane Lockhart in 1988 on Melrose, the company grew into a Los Angeles institution with six stores throughout the area. The company was known for its signature dish, a Triple Berry Cake, and became a go-to for celebrity events as much as it was for regular birthdays, anniversaries and special events.
However, a steady decline in business doomed the bakery.
"We did not come to this decision lightly nor quickly. While the support and loyalty of our customers has been strong, sales are not enough to continue doing business in the state of California, allowing us to service our lease obligations and pay our treasured employees a living wage without passing those costs directly on to you," said a statement posted online.
Sweet Lady Jane’s closure comes just as another bakery opened down the street.
Modern Bread and Bagel opened at 15th and Montana in December.
Owner Orly Gottesman said she expanded her New York based company to Los Angeles in response to a growing demand for her gluten-free products and the opportunity to reduce some of her shipping costs.
"So we were shipping tons of product to the West Coast, and it was costing us like 29, 30 bucks to ship to the West Coast," she said. "And we were passing that cost on to our customers. So we had an opportunity to open in Woodland Hills in what used to be a Westfield Shopping Center and it was an outdoor mall with a splash pad and outdoor seating, lots of space. And we thought during COVID it would be a great place to open this outdoor space."
Over time, the company expanded its East Coast stores before learning that another gluten-free bakery, Breadblok, was closing. Gottesman seized the opportunity to acquire Breadblok’s retail locations and production facility.
Gottesman said she sees a bright future for the business on Montana and beyond.
"More and more people are getting diagnosed with gluten intolerance, whether it be celiac or autoimmune issues or inflammation issues, more and more people are being told to go on a gluten free diet," she said.
She said her products break the stereotypes associated with gluten free food and that the store just focuses on producing exemplary products that happen to be gluten free.
"So we are a new age kind of bagel sandwich shop that serves open face bagels, breakfast sandwiches, salads, bowls, pastries, coffee, breads," she said. "Everything is made from scratch, everything. We don’t buy anything, we make everything. But we’re delicious before we’re gluten free."
Gottesman said the bakery appeals to everyone, regardless of dietary choices.
"We’re very aware of all the allergens when people do come to us, who have gluten intolerance or who are vegan, who don’t eat nuts, there’s a lot of that. But at the same time, there’s also foot traffic. They’re like, ‘Oh, this looks like a really nice bakery. Let me come inside and get a bagel sandwich’ and they’ll come and go without knowing that what they’re eating is gluten free ... That’s where we’re different, is that we don’t only cater to people who are going to be gluten free. We cater to everyone but it still happens to include people who have to be gluten free," she said.
matt@smdp
