Over the last ten years, Lovin’ From The Oven has gone from the West Coast to Nashville to serve handmade European pastries at various farmer’s markets and events. Now officially known as Loving Oven, the business is busy rebranding and expanding in 2024 with a new bakery facility opening later this year in Goodlettsville at 102 Fannin Dr.
A tentative timeline for opening the new facility is early March, pending permits. An official lease for the space is expected to be signed in the upcoming weeks, according to business partner Luis Barragan. What Now Nashville spoke with Barragan about the plans for the new bakery and what else is in store for Loving Oven.
“I was originally a customer of the business and fell in love with the food, specifically the almond croissant. I was working in healthcare and recently left that career to invest in Loving Oven with my business partner, Loving Oven’s founder, Todd Minor. Todd’s been baking for decades and trained in Holland and Copenhagen, then brought back what he learned to Loving Oven. We’re currently at farmer’s markets, but the Goodlettsville bakery will allow us to do much more wholesale. We’re toying with the idea of having a small service window at the new site, but there likely won’t be seating inside. We’re still using a commissary kitchen right now and plan to have customers be able to pick up orders at the new Goodlettsville location,” Barragan said in a phone interview.
Loving Oven’s menu spans a wide variety of both sweet and savory pastries for any occasion, and is currently gearing up for a busy king cake season this week.
“Aside from our staple, year-round pastries we also offer a few seasonal items, like pumpkin pie for the holidays and our loaded baked potato quiche. We specialize in European-style pastries, some of our popular ones are our croissants, pigs in a blanket, mixed-berry cheese pockets, Belgian chocolate ganache brownies, and pecan tarts. On January 6 we’re starting our king cake sales, which is a big season for us. Maybe I’m biased, but I definitely think we have the best king cake in town,” Barragan added.
The NOLA-based king cake tradition originates from Catholic and Christian roots, as it’s celebrated from the start of Carnival, January 6, to the first day of Lent. According to an article on the New Orleans tourism website, “The name ‘king cake’ comes from the Biblical story of the three kings who bring gifts to Baby Jesus. A blend of coffee cake and cinnamon roll, king cake is usually iced in yellow, green, and purple – the colors of Mardi Gras – and is frequently packed with fruit fillings and decadent cream cheeses. Hidden within these season sweets also lie a special surprise: a plastic king cake baby to continue the fun.”
Loving Oven will be at the Richland Park Farmer’s Market in West Nashville from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. this Saturday, January 6 to kick off the start of king cake season. Customers can stay tuned for additional updates about Loving Oven’s new Goodlettsville bakery as its opening date grows closer this spring. In the meantime, stay in the loop with Loving Oven on its Instagram as the business updates its website.
