What It Really Takes to Build Staying Power in New York’s Frenetic Food Scene

This Q&A is part of Observer’s Expert Insights series, where industry leaders, innovators and strategists distill years of experience into direct, practical takeaways and deliver clarity on the issues shaping their industries. In a New York food scene defined by relentless turnover and algorithm-fueled hype, Radio Bakery stands out for a different reason: it has built genuine staying power.

Led by chef and co-owner Kelly Mencin, Radio Bakery has become one of the city’s most consistently buzzy—and influential—bakery brands. With locations in Greenpoint and Prospect Heights, Radio is known for its seasonal pastries, savory-forward menu and lines that seem to materialize regardless of weather, press cycles or platform trends. The bakery has earned praise from The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and daytime television alike, but its real achievement may be cultural rather than critical: Radio feels embedded in its neighborhoods rather than extracted from them.

At a moment when many food businesses chase virality, Mencin has built Radio around repetition, rigor and restraint. Menu innovation is constant, but never at the expense of execution. Scarcity exists, but as a function of space and process, not manufactured exclusivity. Social media plays a role in visibility, yet the brand’s identity is grounded in what happens on the floor: the rhythm of service, the confidence of the team and the reliability of a loaf of bread that tastes the same every day.

In this conversation, Mencin unpacks the business of running a modern bakery at scale—what it takes to sustain demand in a trend-saturated market, how systems and leadership protect creative integrity and why community collaboration remains central to Radio’s growth strategy. From managing hype and seasonality to navigating post-pandemic shifts in consumer taste, Mencin offers a pragmatic look at how durable brand equity is built in hospitality, one batch, one service and one neighborhood at a time.

Radio Bakery has become one of those rare New York spots that consistently draws a line around the block. Beyond great pastries, what are the key ingredients that create that kind of sustained enthusiasm and loyalty?

Consistency and passion. One of our neighbors down the street at our Greenpoint location comes in every single day for a loaf of our seeded bread. Every day. He has come to expect that the bread will be the same, if not better, every day, and if it’s not, he will let us know! I say passion, but what I am really trying to convey is energy. When you walk into Radio, the energy from the bakers, sandwich cooks and servers is palpable. You can feel the heat from the ovens, smell the croissants, watch the cookies being scooped. The music is on, the staff is chattering. It just feels good to be in the space. People want to be around what makes them feel good.

Radio is known for its seasonal “drops” that feel both curated and consistent. How do you balance creativity with consistency, especially when developing new or seasonal items that customers now expect to sell out?

We have a few factors we look at. The two biggest ones are scalability and execution. Anyone can make something perfect once. The biggest test is making 60 to 180 of that same item, perfectly, every single time—and not letting it wreck service. Then, that perfect execution needs to be taught to our bakers. Can they all pipe perfectly? Maybe not. Can we teach them to? We’ll try our hardest. If it can’t be executed at a high level, we won’t run the item.

New York’s food scene moves fast, and trends turn over even faster. What’s your strategy for staying relevant without chasing every new flavor or format that pops up?

Simple, delicious food will always be relevant. We focus on seasonality more than anything else and let the ingredients speak for themselves.

From your vantage point, how has the business of bakeries evolved post-pandemic? Are there lasting shifts in consumer behavior, operations or expectations that you’ve had to adapt to?

I am still in awe of how many bakeries keep opening up every season since the pandemic! New York City has no shortage of sweet tooths. The biggest shift, in my opinion, is in people’s taste. More and more, I am seeing bakeries put savory pastries on the menu or sandwiches. We have been lucky enough that our model has worked for us extremely well. From the start, we were making savory croissant-based pastries and different focaccias and sandwiches. People want to come in and get a savory item and a sweet item, more often than not.

Social media has played a role in Radio’s visibility. What’s your philosophy around online storytelling? How do you translate something as sensory as a pastry into digital moments that resonate?

I knew from the start that I wanted our Instagram to be a platform for inspiration, not only for industry vets but for food lovers in general. I think our page resonates with so many people because it isn’t too manicured. There’s a good range of professional photos, behind-the-scenes videos of our processes and staff faces.

You’ve built a model that embraces scarcity without leaning on exclusivity. How do you think about managing hype, especially around holiday drops or social-media-driven surges in demand?

To be honest, the “hype” aspect of radio bakery is still a hard pill for me to swallow. We didn’t create Radio Bakery as a “hype” or “viral” bakery. Radio’s intention has always been to create simple, craveable food. The scarcity aspect only comes from the fact that our baking spaces are so small—there is a limit to how much production (or people) we can fit in each space. When it comes to managing the hype, we try to remind guests that most items take three days to make, we are making as much as we can and that if they miss out on one drop, there will always be another. We will never sacrifice quality for quantity.

Radio Bakery has become a cultural touchpoint as much as a culinary one. How intentional has that been, and what role does community play in your brand strategy?

Community has always played a huge role in how radio functions. Radio started as a pop-up. We reached out to industry friends who ran our favorite businesses (Mel the Baker, Bonnie’s, Claud) and literally popped up in their spaces selling what we were testing. It created an amazing community pocket in each area of the city. Once we opened Radio, we decided to make it a point to continue to do pop-ups and collabs with other like-minded people. It allows us to connect in a meaningful way with other people and businesses we’re excited about, keeps us learning and it keeps our guests engaged.

Many hospitality founders talk about the challenge of scaling without losing soul. As you’ve expanded from Greenpoint to Prospect Heights, what have you learned about growth and maintaining a distinct brand identity?

Radio wouldn’t be able to grow as successfully as we have if we didn’t have a strong management foundation. Each bakery relies on a “Bakery Chef”—think of it as a Chef de Cuisine—that runs the back-of-house operations at each location. They each bring their own management style, ideas and culture to each bakery. We learned early on that I, personally, cannot help radio grow and thrive if I am deep in the day-to-day operations. Instead, I’ve taken on the role of culinary director, essentially working with the bakery chefs side by side, creating new menu items, dialing in the current menu and looking ahead. Nina, our general manager, also goes back and forth between both bakeries, helping to oversee the FOH operations and the overall growth of the bakeries. It’s true what they say—teamwork really does make the dream work!

Consistency is a constant challenge in high-volume bakeries. What systems or team philosophies help you maintain Radio’s quality and creative integrity at scale?

The biggest lesson we learned this year was creating SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) for everything! From how we build our sandwiches to how we create a weekend special. Even then, we look at all of our recipes and SOPs as “living documents.” Some of our recipes have three to five different versions of them all saved in our library.

Having updated recipes is only the first part of the consistency challenge. Proper communication between managers and staff is the other part of it. We’re all learning and teaching in real time.

The holiday season also puts a spotlight on leadership, especially in a high-pressure, high-visibility business. What practices help you lead your team through those peak periods effectively?

It’s going to sound simple stupid, but I am so big on getting enough sleep, eating healthy meals throughout the day (instead of just snacking on sugar) and making time for myself to either run or go for a walk. I am lucky that I am able to carve out time for myself during the workday to step outside, get some sunshine and go for a run. It gives me a reset during a busy day and lets me keep showing up positive for my team.

It’s been a learning curve, but I have also come to realize that leaders “bring the weather” with them. I try to hit the ground running when I come into work, exude high energy and positivity and give out a LOT of affirmations.

From menu innovation to brand identity, what’s your process for deciding when to iterate and when to hold onto a core classic?

We are constantly iterating, refining and tasting our menu, from the core classics to our seasonal items. Radio’s menu was designed with several aspects in mind: flavor (a cinnamon item, a citrus item, a vegetarian savory, a fruit item), texture (chewy, crunchy, soft, sticky), and shape (pinwheel, claw, round, square). So, whenever we choose to change an item, it has to fit into its specific category. As far as seasonal items, we retest and taste and tinker with whatever we ran the previous year before deciding that we will run with that again. If we want to try something new, it has to be better and more craveable than what we have previously run.

Looking ahead to 2026, what does thoughtful growth look like for Radio Bakery? Are there ways you’re thinking about expanding the brand—or protecting its essence—as demand continues to build?

Right now, I am trying to focus on two big-ticket items: one, mentoring and growing our team and two, developing systems that make everyone’s job more streamlined. As unsexy as that sounds, the team and our systems are a big reason for Radio’s success. Having a team that loves to teach and mentor translates into bakers and servers who are knowledgeable and confident. Having the right systems in place allows us to scale up production while still making crazy delicious product. Tangible growth-wise, I am so excited that we are expanding our production space at our original Greenpoint location with the hope that we can have more diverse offerings throughout the day.