Strolling along the sidewalk in Highland Park Village it is not uncommon to see luxury brands such as Hermes, Dior, Jimmy Choo, and Carolina Herrera lining the plaza. While Highland Park Village may be lacking in affordable shopping, it is most certainly not lacking in delicious, yet expensive food: Bistro 31, a European-styled bistro with Parisian-esque outdoor seating, and the Honor Bar, where one can sit outside next to fire while munching on a delicious salad or chicken sandwich. It can be difficult finding a suitable restaurant or café to dine at without racking up an extravagant bill, and it is rare to find an eatery that creates delicious sandwiches and soups while offering a delightful and sundry dessert menu. The two worlds of delicious entrees like soups and sandwiches and assorted desserts collided when Elizabeth Chambers came up with Bird Bakery.
Situated between Reese Witherspoon’s Draper James and Alice & Olivia, Bird Bakery’s quaint wicker outdoor seating immediately makes you feel at home. After being drawn in, presumably after smelling almond and vanilla wafting out the doors, robin’s egg blue and eggshell white interiors with a neon pink sign urging you to eat cake await. Uncoincidentally, Chambers says almond extract is one of her favorite baking ingredients to use. Bird Bakery has become a perfect study spot because of their welcoming atmosphere and delicious food. But how did this Instagram-worthy bakery come to be?
Bird Bakery hatched in 2012 in Chambers’ hometown of San Antonio when she was unable to find a bakery that served fresh, delicious baked goods. Armed with little more than her grandmother’s recipes on index cards and some Junior League cookbooks from around Texas, Chambers and her husband Armie Hammer opened the first Bird Bakery. She then set to work crafting perfectly-frosted cupcakes, a variety of sandwiches and soups, and tasty sugar cookies and breads. Coincidentally, she opened Bird Bakery just down the street from her grandmother’s old catering business. Crafty names are paired with innovative cupcake flavors, such as their delicious peanut butter and banana cupcake, which is called the Elvis—inspired by Elvis’s favorite sandwich. Other unique cupcakes include their Bird Blue cupcakes, which incorporate decadent vanilla with their signature robin’s egg blue frosting. Bird Bakery acknowledges earlier times with their Nostalgic Yellow cupcakes, which is a yellow cake cupcake with chocolate frosting, and their Southern Red Velvet cupcakes, which uses the traditional cream cheese frosting. Other creations hatched too, such as their finger-licking-good Nutella bread.
Chambers hopes to expand. Her ultimate goal is “to be on food shelves. Whether that’s a direct-to-consumer service or stores on every corner. You can’t ship a cake, but can you ship the mix and icing with some instructions,” she said to Express News. Bird Bakery has already flown to Dallas and landed in Highland Park Village, where it has been open since Spring 2016, and is migrating onwards to Denver, where a third store will open.
Bird Bakery provides tasty options for everyone who walks through their doors. Grab a coffee and a cupcake for some much-needed sugar and caffeine for a study session or share a delicious grilled cheese and tomato soup with friends on a rainy day. Whether you are there for the Instagram-worthy aesthetics or to be a total foodie, Bird Bakery will provide all the tasty food you may need
Bird Bakery is located in between Royal Blue and Alice & Olivia in Highland Park Village and is open all week, Monday to Sunday, from 8 AM to 6 PM.
