At the end of January, Carissa’s Bakery, a Hamptons hub for baked and pantry goodies as well as prepared foods, got some pretty sweet news.
The beloved bakery was named a semifinalist for this year’s “Outstanding Bakery” by the much-revered James Beard Foundation, an organization that recognizes devotion and excellence in the culinary arts, food and beverage, and hospitality industries across the nation. The prestigious honor was bestowed to only 19 other bakeries across the United States. Carissa’s was the only food and beverage business on Long Island to receive a nom.
Open since 2017, the bakery boasts three Hamptons locations: the flagship operation on Pantigo Road in East Hampton, a satellite store in East Hampton Village, and a location in Sag Harbor. The small satellite store (located at 68 Newtown Lane, 631-537-5996) is the original location, founded by Carissa Waechter and Lori Chemla. In the summer of 2019, a second location opened at 221 Pantigo Road. The 3,500-square-foot space offers myriad baked goods as well as an all-day, counter service restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating. Quickly, the Pantigo location became a popular community fixture, and Chemla won the James Beard Foundation Outstanding Restaurant Design Award in 2020. Open since late 2022, the Sag Harbor space (3 Bay St., 631-808-3633) offers a full bakery as well as an ample grab and go savory kitchen and pantry selection.
“It’s a more accessible model we found with fast casual,” says Michele VanNostran, a representative from Carissa’s. “You can treat yourself to the things that are made with integrity, and you can feel good about the things you’re eating. It’s something we take a lot of pride in.”
For this time around, it’s the food itself (and the community that enjoys it) that’s allowing Carissa’s to get attention from the James Beard subcommittee. The requirements are simple: all nominees must be a baker of breads, pastries or desserts that demonstrate consistent excellence in food, atmosphere, hospitality and operations. Candidates for “Outstanding Bakery” must consistently sell goods directly the public, according to the foundation’s website. Recommendations for James Beard awards are submitted by judges who are out in the regions actively searching for potential candidates to help widen the pool, subcommittee members and the general public.
“It’s cool this time because we hadn’t planned on it,” VanNostran says. “We hadn’t asked for anyone to submit on our behalf or anything, it was the general public that got us to this point. It came as truly a surprise that we’re so humbled by and excited about.”
Presently, the tiny team at Carissa’s (they have about 20 employees across all three locations in the off season) is in the next phase of the applications process. “We are responding to their questions about the business,” VanNostran says. “They want to see how we align with the values of the James Beard Foundation.”
The next step is a series of anonymous tastings from James Beard subcommittee members and judges as well as visits from secret shoppers to help narrow down who the finalists will be, set to be announced in early April. The awards ceremony will take place on June 16 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
