NEW ORLEANS – Laurel Street Bakery marked its 20th anniversary on Oct. 4, a rare milestone in the restaurant industry and a testament to the resilience, creativity and community ties that define New Orleans’ small businesses.
Founded in 2005 by Hillary Guttman and her mother, the bakery opened just weeks before Hurricane Katrina. Despite the city’s devastation, she returned quickly, reopening Laurel Street Bakery as soon as possible and re-committing to her Uptown neighborhood.
Remembering those early days, Guttman said the bakery became more than a place for coffee and bagels. “This is the only place that makes sense,” I heard more than once during that time,” she said.
Two decades later, the bakery is now located in a larger space in the Broadmoor neighborhood at 2701 South Broad and continues to thrive. All items are baked from scratch, by hand, using only all-natural top quality ingredients. Offerings include handmade bagels, pastries, breakfasts, lunch, catering and custom cakes while remaining a welcoming hub for families, students and professionals alike.
“Reaching 20 years is a huge milestone for any restaurant, but especially for a small, independent bakery like ours,” said Guttman. “We’ve weathered Katrina, economic shifts, seasonal slowdowns and rising costs, but through it all, our community kept us going. To still be here two decades later, serving neighbors and watching families grow up in our bakery, means everything.”
Anniversary Celebration
The Laurel Street Bakery hosted a community celebration on Oct. 4 to mark the achievement. Guests enjoyed birthday cake and took part in a cupcake decorating contest. The winner, Rachel Adams, received a dozen custom-made cupcakes and won the chance to collaborate with Guttman to design their own cupcake, which will be featured at the bakery for a month.
Longtime supporters, neighbors and new visitors all came together to celebrate the bakery’s remarkable journey.
“People want preservative-free, homemade baked goods made from high-quality ingredients and they deserve it,” Guttman said. “They deserve to see, smell and taste those delicious baked goods that parents and grandparents still savor. They deserve a bakery that serves the community and becomes part of it, not a corporate box building that could be dropped anywhere else in the country.”
Dana Eness, executive director of the Urban Conservancy and Stay Local, Greater New Orleans’ Independent Business Alliance, praised the milestone: “Small businesses like Laurel Street Bakery are the backbone of New Orleans’ neighborhoods. For 20 years, Hillary and her team have shown what it means to be rooted in community—providing not just great food but a sense of place and belonging. We are proud to celebrate this incredible achievement with them.”
Defying the Odds in a Tough Industry
For a small bakery to survive opening during one of the city’s darkest hours, rebuild and thrive two decades later is not just an anniversary but a testament to perseverance, community ties, creativity and adaptability.
The restaurant industry remains one of the toughest to sustain, challenged by high food and labor costs, narrow margins and changing regulations. Nationally, only about half of restaurants make it past their fifth year, and barely a third reach their tenth. In New Orleans, competition is even fiercer—home to more than 1,400 restaurants, or roughly 400 to 500 per 100,000 residents, nearly double the national average.
Against those odds, a business like Laurel Street Bakery isn’t just surviving—it’s thriving, proving how local support and resilience can keep a neighborhood institution going strong.
About Laurel Street Bakery
Laurel Street Bakery is a family-owned neighborhood bakery known for hand-rolled bagels, from-scratch pastries, and a compact breakfast-and-lunch menu served at its Broadmoor location at 2701 S. Broad St. Founded in 2005 by Hillary Guttman just weeks before Hurricane Katrina, the business reopened quickly after the storm and later established its South Broad storefront in 2013 as part of the corridor’s small-business revival.
Today the bakery offers bagels with house-made cream cheeses, breakfast platters and sandwiches, soups and salads, cakes and sweets, plus seasonal king cakes. Online ordering and catering are available, and regular hours are Monday through Friday 7 a.m.–1 p.m. and Saturday 8 a.m.–1 p.m.
