Lori the baker gets her bakery

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Restaurateurs Lori Baker and Jeff Banker have upped their culinary cachet by adding a takeout bakery.

It’s been part of their plan since the couple opened their neighborhood hot spot, Baker & Banker, a few months ago at 1701 Octavia. “It was just very hard to make it all happen at once,” says Baker, since the bakery required going through a separate permitting process. The doors finally opened on August 1.

The bakery entrance is around the corner on Bush Street. There’s no seating inside, but Baker says she hopes to arrange outdoor seating soon. She will showcase her favorites: a couple of kinds of bread that will change daily, cupcakes, layer cakes, brownies, cookies, breakfast pastries and various take-home desserts. Custom orders will also be welcomed.

“I’ve been a pastry chef for 15 years,” says Baker. “And by now, I’ve found the things I like to make and eat — and that I’m good at.” Eventually she also hopes to add sandwiches to the menu and to expand the bakery’s hours — now Wednesday through Sunday, 9 to 5 — to cater to the breakfast crowd. “For now, I’m hoping that people who start their days a bit later or work flexible hours will come by to grab a scone,” says Baker.

EARLIER: Baker & Banker: back where they belong