{"id":328249,"date":"2026-05-22T19:48:40","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T19:48:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/328249\/"},"modified":"2026-05-22T19:48:40","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T19:48:40","slug":"head-to-west-oakland-for-impossibly-soft-sponge-cake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/328249\/","title":{"rendered":"Head to West Oakland for Impossibly Soft Sponge Cake"},"content":{"rendered":"

Grand Opening<\/a> is the bakery from acclaimed pastry chef Melissa Chou, who\u2019s worked in the kitchens of Michelin-starred restaurants Aziza, Mourad, Quince, and Mister Jiu\u2019s. Chou began Grand Opening as a weekend pop-up out of Mister Jiu\u2019s, selling goods out of a restaurant window facing Waverly Place, where fans ate up Chou\u2019s spin on Asian-inflected treats, such as blueberry bolo bao and black sesame tea cake. Her treats earned the attention of the New York Times, with mentions of the burnt honey pie<\/a> and the Parisian egg tart<\/a> in the paper\u2019s year-end best dishes roundups in 2024 and 2022, respectively.<\/p>\n

Chou opened her standalone bakery in the O2 Artisans Aggregate in West Oakland in February 2026, sharing a space with Esteven Silva\u2019s bread-focused bakery, Studio Estepan<\/a>. She\u2019s brought over much of the pastries that fans buzzed about to her new space. The paired bakeries draw weekend lines<\/a> to their door for a good reason.<\/p>\n

A sweet treat for any occasion. The whole cakes and pies are perhaps more party-slash-celebration-coded. I\u2019d argue that the individual pastries, cake slices, and pie slices are a more price-conscious everyday treat. Or, honestly, invite some friends over to share in a smorgasbord of sweets with you. These desserts can create an occasion for food-curious friends (like I assume you are, if you\u2019re reading this). It\u2019s not exactly a casual endeavor to buy sweets here, as some planning is involved, but it\u2019s worth it if you have a sweet tooth; Chou does eventually plan to have a sale every Saturday, however, just check the Grand Opening Instagram<\/a> to confirm.<\/p>\n

There are ways to foolproof your visit to Grand Opening. You can pre-order boxes through the website<\/a> starting the Monday prior to the upcoming weekend (Friday, Saturday, or Sunday). Whole cake and pie orders are available two weeks out. Pickups are typically timed for noon to 2 p.m. on your selected day. If you, like me, double up with carbs and fall in line for goods from Studio Estepan, you can pick up your Grand Opening order at the same time, ahead of the designated time from your order confirmation. (This is also your moment to add on any extra a la carte items from Grand Opening.) Chou also shares that if you have a pre-order, but aren\u2019t ordering bread from Studio Estepan, you can skip the line and grab your goods from her directly.<\/p>\n