Hundreds brave bitter cold for opening of bakery chain's new Toronto location
Hundreds of people in Toronto endured frigid winter temperatures just to celebrate the opening of a local bakery chain's newest location last weekend.
I'm not much of a dessert person, but from those in my own life, I know there's not much that can stand between them and a worthy sweet treat.
In the case of the enthusiastic fanbase bolstering Scarborough's LA LA Bakeshop, it was the icy air blowing down the Bay Street wind tunnel that couldn't deter them, as the bakery chain opened a new downtown Toronto location just weeks after closing its last.
When the Vietnamese bakeshop closed its Annex location in November of 2025, fans of the chain feared they'd be forced to travel to Scarborough or Waterloo to get their goodies.
No fear, because just a handful of weeks later, the chain opened its latest Toronto location just a few intersections over in College Park. Suffice it to say, the bakery's fans in the city showed up to celebrate.
"We are speechless," the bakery writes in the caption of a post celebrating the opening of the new location. "Despite the absolute frigid temperatures, you guys came out to support us this past weekend."
Indeed, on the weekend of Dec. 13 and 14, when the bakeshop hosted the grand-opening of their Bay Street storefront, throngs of shoppers lined up to sink their teeth into the Vietnamese desserts, temperatures didn't reach higher than -3 C, going as low as -13.
It wasn't enough to deter LA LA Bakeshop's evangelical fanbase, though, as throngs showed up for the event that the chain describes as not "just another opening."
"Toronto is our hometown, where we were founded, and where our heart will always belong," the caption of the post reads. "It's where our first community was built."
The chain was founded by friends and business partners Harry Pham, Brian Tran and Michelle Pham during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to the opening of their first brick-and-mortar in 2021 and going on to open additional locations as far-reaching as New York City.
"For us, this bakery-cafe reflects the result of years of unrelenting hard work and commitment to our mission: to offer a truly modern and hyper-authentic experience of today's Vietnam," the team writes in the caption of the post.
According to the post, the reaction from the public has been "amazing," and there's still plenty of room to grow in the future.
You can visit LA LA Bakeshop's newest location at 761 Bay St.
@lalabakeshop.ca/Instagram
