Lawrence Lai, who started one of San Francisco’s most popular bakeries, Craftsman & Wolves, died on April 29 from esophageal cancer, according to an announcement.
He was 53 years old.
Lai, a native of Taiwan who was raised in San Francisco, opened Craftsman & Wolves in a former Valencia Street auto repair shop in 2012 with his wife, Ann Lee, and pastry chef William Werner, who later left the business. The Mission District patisserie became known for elegant pastries and the famed “rebel within,” a savory muffin with an oozing soft-boiled egg hidden inside. Craftsman & Wolves also, unusually, roasts its own coffee.
They expanded with a second location in Russian Hill that later closed and an outpost in the Bayview, as well as Bay Area farmers markets and cafes. The first brick-and-mortar Craftsman & Wolves outside of San Francisco is slated to open in Mountain View this summer…