Clinton Street Baking Company

One day, around 2002, my good friend Nadav told me to check out this new restaurant on Clinton Street. Even though their name says “Baking Company,” he said their savory breakfast was amazing. At the time, I was living around the corner from there, so I immediately checked them out. He was right. Even though they serve classic dishes, they stood out, which is not an easy feat. I felt like love was literally one of their ingredients which is what inspired me to design a postcard for them several years later that said: “Made with Love and Butter.” I wrote a little blurb about them on my micro-blog called URLDJ that resembled Twitter. DeDe, the co-owner (her husband Neil Kleinberg is the chef) somehow found it and posted it on their front window. That tells you how forward-thinking she is. In 2002, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram didn’t exist. Nobody took “weblogs” seriously at the time, yet DeDe knew the influential role bloggers were going to play. She was particularly keen on Instagram shortly after it launched and she was right. Instagram turned out to be the most influential social media for restaurants.

Another thing I should point out is that, in 2002, there were no decent restaurants on Clinton Street. It was still somewhat dangerous. Today, Clinton Street is known for restaurants. DeDe and Neil set the future trajectory for the whole street.

I believe it was around 2003, DeDe asked me to design their website. That’s how our business relationship started. It’s been a pleasure to witness their journey to success. Today, they are still my clients but also friends. They have expanded to the beautiful corner space. They have locations in Tokyo, Dubai, Singapore, and Bangkok. Pictured here is their latest expansion to Dumbo, Brooklyn as one of the featured vendors in Time Out Market. They invited me and my wife to two evenings of trying the whole market. It’s a beautiful space and the view of the river and Manhattan is spectacular. If you work in Dumbo, it’s a perfect place to grab your breakfast and lunch. It will also be a great destination for weekend brunch as there are plenty of other things to do in the area.

Congrats to DeDe and Neil.