For years, a perk of going to my doctor in Lake View was that Loba Pastry + Coffee was a few blocks away. Afterward, I’d stop in for owner Valeria Socorro Velazquez Lindsten’s treats, which draw on her fine-dining pastry skills and Mexican heritage. In 2021, with the lease up, Lindsten announced she was moving Loba. But a loan didn’t come through, and she held three rounds of crowdfunding. Finally, more than two years later, Loba reopened in June.

The new space is larger and filled with wood furnishings and so much sunlight I moved from a window-side table to the counter to keep working on my laptop. Sweets are arrayed in the pastry case, and offerings land throughout the day. With luck, you’ll try an Emmie, an ooey-gooey baked oatmeal custard with a sticky caramelized exterior dotted with sesame seeds. It tastes like a canelé (and is gluten-free).

Each buzz of the oven signals the next round of deliciousness is coming to the case. Maybe it’s a pepper-Parmesan biscuit with a tender crumb or a pineapple sourdough muffin. The pastries are almost savory and are unlike anything in town. Same with the drinks: There’s a rotating latte, like the monkey with caramel, coconut, and clementine, and a Kyoto-style cold brew.

It’s a six-minute walk from the old location to the new, so it’s still my postdoctor stop. But the move has given Loba fresh energy, making it feel like a whole new place.