Sweet Lady Jane’s Montana Avenue bakery is on pause after the chain’s new owners discovered the previous proprietors never filed permits for a 2023 remodel. CEO Julie Ngu, who bought the brand with partner Matt Clark, says the team has already turned in the missing plans and is now working with city and county officials to get the shop cleared to reopen. While inspections play out, the bakery is taking orders by phone and offering local delivery so regulars can still get their cake fix.
According to the Santa Monica Mirror, Los Angeles County posted notices on the Montana Avenue storefront that flagged code issues tied to the unfiled remodeling plans. On Instagram, the bakery told followers that “Santa Monicans! We’ve hit a little bubble in the cake batter.” The Mirror reports that Ngu said she and her crew had submitted the plans that the prior owners skipped and were “working day and night” with officials. Customers were directed to call (310) 254-9499 for phone orders and to get free delivery within a five-mile radius between 3:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.
Ngu and Clark acquired Sweet Lady Jane’s assets in February and immediately started renegotiating leases, bringing staff back and gearing up to relaunch multiple locations, the Los Angeles Times reported. Ngu, who also runs Pacific French Bakery, told the paper that keeping the recipes and the bakery’s signature Triple Berry Cake unchanged was a top priority while they restored service.
Local outlets followed the early stages of the comeback: ABC7 noted that the Santa Monica shop held a soft reopening in early March and that the Beverly Hills and Encino locations had also resumed operations under the new owners. Ngu told ABC7 that the team had rehired more than 20 former employees and hoped to bring additional staff back once the lingering paperwork issues were resolved.
Permit Snag Stalls Montana Avenue Comeback
Notices posted by the city and county suggest the current disruption is more about paperwork than baking. The Santa Monica Observer reported that a Los Angeles County notice cited code violations tied to the requirement to submit remodeling plans. Photos of the notices show references to permit and plan-submission rules, while bakery staff left a message on the door telling customers they were “working hard with the city to open the doors again very soon.”
Legal Fallout
The chain’s problems did not start with the remodel. A former employee filed wage and hour claims that ultimately led to a legal settlement, the Los Angeles Times reported. The settlement, which resolved the named plaintiff’s claims, was filed with state labor officials in July 2024. The buyers have repeatedly stated that they are not responsible for the prior ownership’s legal or financial decisions.
For customers trying to figure out which locations are open and how to place orders, the bakery’s official locations page is still the clearest guide. Sweet Lady Jane lists current hours and contact information for each storefront. The owners say the phone-order and local-delivery setup will stay in place while they wait for inspections and approvals, with the goal of getting Montana Avenue back in action with as little disruption as possible.
