The spirit of the Market in Larimer Square lives on at this Arvada bakery
By NOELLE PHILLIPS | nphillips@denverpost.com | The Denver Post | October 10, 2022
The Mango Cream cake from Lala’s Bakery in Arvada. (Noelle Phillips, The Denver Post)
The text messages and Instagram picture exchanges would betray any attempts at denying how often two other Denver Post reporters and I eat a cake from Lala’s Bakery, probably more than our doctors and nutritionists need to know.
The Arvada bakery was founded by Audrey Daniels, Laura Madrid and Vivian Villagrana, three former bakers at The Market in Larimer Square who lost their jobs when the legendary cafe closed for good during the pandemic. Soon after, they banded together to open Lala’s.
Fellow reporters Saja Hindi, Elizabeth Hernandez and I ate our first Lala’s cake — peach almond — during Ramadan in 2020. The three of us had decided to gather for a pandemic iftar to share the experience with Saja.
The Goth birthday cake from Lala’s Bakery in Arvada. (Noelle Phillips, The Denver Post)
“You never forget your first,” Hernandez said.
It was a match made in cake heaven: We wanted dessert and these women were opening a business selling just that. Now, an iftar dinner with a Lala’s cake is an annual tradition.
Read the full article here