Pam Weekes and Connie McDonald: Levain Bakery Co-Founders

Second Life

Who What Wear

Careers, Business, Personal Journals, Society & Culture, Fashion & Beauty, Arts

4.8 • 3K Ratings

🗓️ 12 June 2023

⏱️ 53 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Levain Bakery founders Pam Weekes and Connie McDonald met at a Manhattan swimming pool while training for a triathlon. Not long after, they set out to create a bakery together. What started as an artisan bread shop quickly gained traction for its Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies, referred to by The New York Times as “the largest, most divine chocolate chip cookies in Manhattan” in 1997. Today, Levain has 11 locations, with a 12th storefront coming to Los Angeles this summer. Prior to it all, though, Weekes spent her early career in fashion working for greats such as Norma Kamali and Adrienne Vittadini, and McDonald worked in the finance industry for eight years. To hear how the two pivoted their careers to create a highly successful cookie company, tune in to this week’s episode.

Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode is brought to you by Cartier, classic and eccentric, punk, but refined.
0:07.3	The Clash to Cartier Jewelic Collection amplifies dualities by mixing elements from the
0:11.8	Maisons archives.
0:13.5	The result is a strikingly sculptural design, with attitude.
0:18.4	Behind the clean lines is a complex feat of craftsmanship that brings together elegant
0:23.2	articulations and architectural forms.
0:26.2	Turn up the volume with Clash to Cartier.
0:28.2	Shout the collection at Cartier.com.
0:30.6	Hi everyone, I'm Hillary Kerr, the co-founder and chief content officer of Who Outwear, and
0:42.4	this is Second Life, a podcast spotlighting women who have truly inspiring careers.
0:49.6	We're talking about their work journeys, what they've learned from the process of setting
0:53.5	aside their doubts or fears and what happens when they embark on their second life.
0:59.4	Today on the show, I'm speaking with the co-founders of Leven Bakerie, Pam Weeks, and Connie
1:05.2	McDonald.
1:06.6	Nearly 30 years ago, Pam and Connie met while swimming at their local YWCA pool.
1:13.0	Not long after, they began to train for triathlons together and, to pass the time on their
1:18.9	long, biking days, they'd spend hours brainstorming business ideas.
1:25.1	Coming back to their shared love of food and baking time and time again, the two eventually
1:30.9	decided to create Leven Bakerie.
1:34.0	What started as an artisan bread shop quickly gained traction for their six ounce chocolate
1:40.1	chip walnut cookies, which, a 1997 New York Times article deemed, quote, the largest,
1:47.3	most divine chocolate chip cookies in Manhattan.
	...

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