Since 2012, chef Sang Yoon has been steadily working to reopen Helms Bakery, one of Los Angeles’s most iconic operations that delivered bread, cookies, cakes, pies, and more to Angelenos in bright yellow and blue trucks resembling bread boxes from 1931 to 1969. The bakery was the official supplier to the 1932 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, and the Olympic rings appear in the bakery’s original logo. Since shuttering in 1969, the Culver City Helms Bakery complex has been repurposed into a mix of furniture stores, a bookstore, and restaurants, including Sang’s gastropub Father’s Office. On November 1, at least part of the massive development will return to baking bread when the rebooted Helms Bakery reopens.

The rebirth of Helm’s Bakery was first announced in November 2012, with former Spago pastry chef Sherry Yard’s name attached; Yard is no longer involved with the project. While Eater reported that the bakery would open in 2014, construction delays and cost overruns stalled the project for a solid decade.

The latest iteration of Helm’s Bakery is set in a 14,000-square-foot space with high ceilings, original wood beams, and open skylights. Executive chef Nanor Harboyan, a veteran of Destroyer and large-scale operations at Disney World, oversees all the prepared foods and savory items, while head baker Jacob Fraijo manages breads and pastries.

On the menu is a wide array of European- and American-style baked goods, including croissants, cakes, doughnuts, baguettes, and sourdough loaves. Leading up to the bakery’s long-awaited reopening, Sang and the Helms team have teased some of the new baked goods on Instagram, including cherry pie, chicken pot pie, egg salad sandwiches, chocolate croissants, and cookies.

Matthew Kang

A train station-style spit-flap display placed prominently over the open baking areas signals to patrons which baked goods will come out of the oven next. “Everything’s going to be fresh, small batch. If we run out, we replace it,” says Yoon. “When you’re open throughout the day, you don’t want to be looking at the same pastries. You want to have some new reason to come in.”

The bakery’s beverage counter will serve coffee roasted on the premises, smoothies, juices, and teas. Prepared meals, salads, and sandwiches like Venice’s Gjusta will be available at a different counter along with a selection of specialty foods at the marketplace.

A small heated outdoor patio will give way to more picnic-style tables around the building to accommodate dining on-site. A full-service restaurant named Dinette will open in an adjacent space, serving midcentury American food styled as an upscale meat-and-three menu in 2025.

Helms Bakery opens on November 1, 2024, with hours from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Going forward, it’ll start with service Wednesday to Sunday, eventually expanding to an 8 p.m. closure, and then seven days a week. Located at 3220 Helms Avenue, Culver City, CA, 90034.