Boston's cult-favorite babka bakery just opened its first South Florida location

Boston has its lobster rolls. New York has its bagels. And now South Florida is getting one of New England's most beloved bakeries.

Bakey, the bakery and café known for its swirled babka and other fresh-from-the-oven breads, has officially opened its first Florida location in Hallandale Beach. The shop, which debuted on July 14 in the former Kosher Bagel Cove space on West Hallandale Beach Boulevard, is the first of what the company says will be multiple South Florida outposts, with locations also planned for Fort Lauderdale and Aventura so far.

If the names behind the bakery sound familiar, there's a good reason: Bakey was founded by bakery industry scion Amir Vadashchef and master baker Uri Scheft—the Israeli-born baker behind Tel Aviv's Lehamim Bakery and New York City's popular Breads Bakery, where the chocolate babka has earned something of a legendary reputation. (Scheft's James Beard Award-nominated cookbook Breaking Breads also helped introduce home bakers across the country to laminated doughs, challah and, of course, babka.) 

At Bakey, that famous pastry is still the main event. Whole loaves of chocolate babka share the spotlight with almond babka made with German marzipan, flaky croissants, rugelach, cheese sticks and buttery burekas. The menu also includes naturally fermented sourdough breads, challah, sandwiches, salads and all-day breakfast dishes, plus fresh New York-style bagels—a nod to the building's longtime life as a neighborhood bagel shop.

The bakery says everything is made in-house throughout the day, following its "the oven is always on" philosophy. That means breads and pastries aren't simply baked before sunrise and left to sit in display cases; fresh batches come out of the ovens throughout the day.

The redesigned café seats about 50 guests indoors and another 70 outside, with a bright, minimalist interior filled with greenery. In keeping with the location's history, the Hallandale Beach bakery is also kosher.

Whether you're stopping in for a loaf to take home, grabbing a bagel before work, or finally seeing what all the babka hype is about, South Florida no longer has to book a flight to Boston (or New York) to get a taste of one of America's most celebrated bakeries.