Buns on display at Koko Bakery in Cleveland. Credit: Douglas Trattner
For more than 15 years, Koko Bakery (3710 Payne Ave., 216-881-7600) has lured Asian food fans to its downtown store for fresh-baked buns, colorful fruit tarts, cakes and pastries, hot lunches and delicious bubble tea. Come this summer, the popular Asiatown shop will open its second location, this one out east in Coventry Village.

“A lot of American people come to my store and enjoy our pastry and buns, so we are opening the one on Coventry to let the people enjoy more of the best bubble teas and pastry,” says owner Jian Xu.

The location is the former Piccadilly Artisan Yogurt (1767 Coventry Rd.) space next door to Pacific East. Xu says that the shop will be nearly identical to the original in terms of items offered. They will be outfitting the space with its own bakery.

The goal is to be open by mid-summer.

This article appears in Apr 21 – May 4, 2021.

For 25 years, Douglas Trattner has worked as a full-time freelance writer, editor and author. His work as co-author on Michael Symon's cookbooks have earned him four New York Times Best-Selling Author honors, while his longstanding role as Scene dining editor has garnered awards of its own.