LEVEE BAKING CO.
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana, knew it had something special in Christina Balzebre’s Levee Baking Co, from its pop-up and farmer’s market origins to its current status as a bustling bakery. The Crescent City can’t get enough of Christina’s laminated pastries and rustic loaves. But the journey from fledgling pop-up to established storefront has been a winding—and occasionally bumpy—road. “Since I’ve started Levee, everything has been a learn-as-I-go experience. It can be a really intimidating process to go from being a creative person to being a businessperson,” Christina says. After closing her pop-up in Melissa Martin’s Mosquito Supper Club, Christina didn’t know if the future lay with teaching, writing, or selling baked goods; she just knew it would involve the realm of pastry. Call it serendipity or fate, but an ideal location on New Orleans’ bustling Magazine Street opened up. Not only was
