Banana pudding fans, take note: the cross-border road trip you’ve been making for years might soon be unnecessary.
Magnolia Bakery, the West Village institution that opened in 1996 and became a cultural touchstone after appearing on HBO’s Sex and the City in 2000, has announced plans to expand into Ontario with 10 new locations. The expansion will be led by franchisees Chetanshi and Shaishav “Shay” Thakkar, with the company confirming the move in a recent announcement aimed squarely at its Canadian fan base.
While the bakery first built its reputation on red velvet cupcakes, it’s the layered banana pudding — creamy vanilla pudding, fresh bananas, and vanilla wafers — that has become its true claim to fame in recent years, routinely drawing long lines regardless of season. The broader menu rounds out with classic American bakery staples: cupcakes, cheesecakes, cookies, and bars.
Magnolia already operates internationally in markets including Kuwait, India, the Philippines, Qatar, Turkey, and the UAE, so a move north of the border has arguably been a matter of when, not if. Specific Ontario locations and an opening timeline haven’t been announced yet, but with 10 locations reportedly in the pipeline, this isn’t shaping up to be a single flagship test — it’s a full-scale entrance into the market.
Banana pudding cravings got you googling flight prices to New York? Hold off — it sounds like Magnolia is coming to you instead.