Magnolia Bakery, the West Village institution famous for banana pudding and red velvet cupcakes, is opening its first Ohio location at Legacy Village in Lyndhurst this autumn. The bakery, which built its national reputation on a dozen company-owned stores and a memorable cameo in Sex and the City, is bringing its brand to Cleveland's Eastside as part of a rapid, private equity-fueled expansion across the country.
News of the Lyndhurst opening was first reported by Cleveland Scene, which noted the bakery is known for its cheesecakes, brownies and blondies, and cookies in addition to its signature banana pudding. The Scene's report also detailed Magnolia's broader ambitions: the company plans to roll out more than 50 new US franchises and company-owned locations by the end of 2027, on top of the roughly 40 overseas franchise locations it already operates.
The Lyndhurst store will be Magnolia's first in Ohio, landing at a shopping center with a long track record of hosting brands making their statewide debut. Legacy Village opened in October 2003 as Northeast Ohio's first open-air lifestyle center, spanning 67 acres and more than 600,000 square feet of retail and dining space, according to WKYC. When the center launched, roughly 60 percent of its initial retail tenants were new to Ohio, per Wikipedia, a group that included the state's first Apple Store and Crate & Barrel.
Why an Affluent Cleveland Suburb
Legacy Village draws more than 4.3 million customers annually, and the surrounding trade population reports an average household income exceeding $162,000, according to a LoopNet listing for the property. Major nearby employers include Progressive Insurance and the Cleveland Clinic, factors that help explain why a fast-scaling national bakery chain would choose the Lyndhurst site over other Cleveland-area options. The center's ownership situation has also been in flux in recent years: developer First Interstate Properties put the then 20-year-old property on the commercial real estate market in October 2023, WKYC reported, to allow its long-term institutional pension fund partner to cash out its investment.
Magnolia's expansion into Ohio didn't start with a store. In March 2023, the bakery launched packaged Banana Pudding Cookies with nationwide grocery distribution, according to Food Network, landing on shelves at chains including Giant Eagle, The Fresh Market and Harris Teeter. Giant Eagle operates supermarkets throughout Greater Cleveland, meaning many Ohioans likely tasted Magnolia's products in cookie form well before the Lyndhurst store was ever announced.
A Bakery Reshaped by Private Equity
Magnolia Bakery began decades ago as a small bakeshop on Bleecker Street in Manhattan's West Village, a modest footprint that made its rise to national name recognition — cemented by its Sex and the City appearance in 2000 — all the more notable. That changed in 2021, when private equity firm RSE Ventures acquired the brand and began a multi-channel expansion strategy that, per Inc. Magazine, doubled Magnolia's total revenue over the following five years. RSE Ventures also holds investment stakes in specialty food brands including Momofuku and Milk Bar.
Across its roughly dozen company-owned brick-and-mortar stores in New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago, Magnolia generated an estimated $40 million to $50 million in retail bakery revenue in 2025, Inc. Magazine reported. In February, the company named former Jamba chief brand officer Nathan Louer as its new chief executive to drive domestic franchising and retail growth, while 20-year company veteran Bobbie Lloyd shifted into the roles of chief brand officer and chief baking officer, according to Nation's Restaurant News. Louer previously held long-term brand marketing leadership roles at Jimmy John's.
Ohio Joins a Growing Franchise Map
The Lyndhurst opening follows the launch of Magnolia's US domestic franchise program earlier this year, which began with an inaugural location in Holladay, Utah, and continued with a second US franchise in Louisville's NuLu neighborhood this month. The bakery had operated for nearly 30 years without offering domestic franchises before this year's push, underscoring how quickly the strategy is now moving.
The company has also been building consumer familiarity through unconventional channels, including a December 2024 partnership with United Airlines that put 3-ounce cups of banana pudding wafer cookie bits into first-class cabins on domestic flights longer than 901 miles. Those efforts have not been without hiccups: a company-owned Chicago store was temporarily closed in July after a health inspection, Hoodline reported. Still, the Lyndhurst debut represents Magnolia's first crack at Ohio, testing whether the small-batch charm that made it a West Village fixture can scale into dozens of new markets nationwide.
