Brady’s Bakery, known for its cult-favorite cookies and bread puddings, will finally open its first permanent storefront in Echo Park in spring 2027. After more than a decade operating out of homes and cloud kitchens, the bake-to-order shop is set to debut along Sunset Boulevard, next door to the latest Ggiata Italian sandwich shop.
Owner Reece Scelfo started baking from his West Hollywood home in 2015, looking for a change from his corporate entertainment career. He recalled an early attempt at red velvet cake, using only a fork and cereal bowl, which he admitted came out "pretty bad," but he was still "having such a ball." This hobby soon became a business venture. By 2016, Scelfo officially founded Brady’s Bakery, named after his pet boxer, making deliveries during lunch breaks and baking in the evenings. He quit his corporate job in 2018 to focus on the bakery full-time, but soon faced limitations with a home oven that could only bake 18 cookies at a time, despite orders for thousands.
To scale up, Brady’s Bakery moved into a Cloud Kitchens location near USC in 2019. Despite delays, it opened in March 2020, only to lose all its wholesale accounts two weeks later due to the COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns. However, being optimized for takeout and delivery, the business saw an explosion in demand. Scelfo noted growing from himself and two part-timers to eight full-time staff within a year or two. The bakery continued its journey through various ghost and commissary kitchens across Echo Park, Glendale, Culver City, and Hollywood, alongside national delivery.
Scelfo expressed immense enthusiasm for the Echo Park space, stating he had "searched for years" for the right location. The new shop plans to offer its core lineup of cookies, including chocolate chip and sea salt, the cream cheese-stuffed Doughboy, a gluten-free peanut butter and jelly, and the Nutella-filled OMFG. Bread pudding flavors will span chocolate chunk, cinnamon roll, the banana-pecan That’s Bananas, and the carrot-cake-infused Bad Bunny. Over the coming months, Scelfo intends to expand the menu to include items such as buttermilk biscuits, baguettes, and cinnamon rolls, alongside cold brew, drip coffee, and homemade horchata.
The bakery also prominently celebrates its identity as a queer-owned and operated business. Scelfo shared his pride in being able to publicly display this, stemming from growing up in a small Texas town where he felt unsure of acceptance. He aims to create a welcoming space for the wider gay and trans community in Echo Park. As preparations continue, Scelfo is most looking forward to the community aspect. "I cannot wait to be there and see people walk through the door," he said.
