A NEW HIGHLAND PARK BAKERY JUST LEVELED UP LA’S WHITE-HOT CROISSANT SCENE

AJ Kim and Scott Sohn, the founders of Kumquat Coffee in Highland Park and Glassell Park’s Loquat Coffee, recently opened a bakery specializing in croissants in Highland Park. Fondry (a combination of fond and foundry) debuted on April 20, 2024, to a line of customers eager for a taste of pain au chocolat and kouign amann, and sold out in just 90 minutes on its first two days of business. Kim and Sohn are partnering with Ivy Ku and Travis Chan on the project. Ku studied baking at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris before baking professionally in Hong Kong, while Chan came on to support bakery operations.

With Fondry, Kim uses the same approach he took with the coffee shops by focusing on one staple item and preparing it perfectly. “We like to begin with something very simple and something very basic, develop the quality,” he says. Kim chose croissants as the bakery’s focal point because he thinks they are the most essential accompaniment for coffee. It took years of research and trips around the globe to South Korea, Japan, and New York to develop Fondry’s line of croissants.

The bakery serves 13 different kinds of croissants, including plain, triple chocolate, ham and Gruyere, kouign amann, and a sweet flat version called keu-loong-gi in Korean. Fondry’s croissants start with a blend of flours formulated to achieve a crispy outer layer while building enough gluten structure to have consistent air pockets inside. The dough goes through a cold fermentation rising process before being proofed and shaped. After every tray of croissants comes out of the oven, staffers take note of the results to further hone in on the baking process.

Fondry currently operates Friday through Sunday and plans to expand service to seven days a week in the future; coffee from Loquat is served at the bakery. Pastries from Fondry are available at Kumquat and Loquat on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, and Kim plans to tailor the pastry offerings to each cafe in due time.

Opening Fondry in Highland Park a block away from Kumquat was a clear choice for Kim who lives in neighboring Glassell Park, dislikes commuting, and wanted to expand the company’s footprint in a community it was already a part of. At both Kumquat and Loquat, Kim regularly sees the same crowds come in day after day, he says.

Both Highland Park and Glassell Park have experienced rapid gentrification marked by increasing housing costs. In 2022, the opening of Dunsmoor restaurant in Glassell Park drew crowds of protesters on opening night organizing under the banner of “Dunsmoor is Done.” The protesters held up signs reading “Dunsmoor displaces” and expressed concerns about the harm the new restaurant would bring to the neighborhood. Though Kumquat and Loquat have not seen the same pushback, Kim is aware of the effects restaurants have on gentrification in the community and strives to keep prices more accessible than other shops in the area and bring value to the neighborhoods.

Fondry isn’t the only project Kim and Sohn have been developing. At the end of May, the partners will be moving into new headquarters in Cypress Park which will also be a roastery and cafe. The roastery will be open for public tours once they’re settled in.

Fondry is located at 4703 York Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90042, and is open Friday to Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

2024-04-23T21:09:26Z dg43tfdfdgfd