Meet Irene Chang | Founder, LA Bakery Walk

We had the good fortune of connecting with Irene Chang and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Irene, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
This idea started as something deeply personal. After long weeks of back-to-back meetings and staring at a screen, my weekends became sacred. I craved fresh air and movement, so I’d unplug, choose a couple of places I’d been wanting to try, and walk miles across the city to visit each one. Every place I’ve lived—San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles—I’ve explored it on foot. Walking long distances and supporting local businesses was my way of exploring the city on my own terms. As I began sharing what was once a solo ritual, it became clear that it was meeting a deeper need.

People are craving low-pressure spaces built around shared interests. LA Bakery Walk creates that through something simple: pastries and movement—with the real focus on the bakeries themselves. Many are immigrant-owned, family-run businesses rooted in culture, migration, and generational story. By gathering intentionally in these spaces, we’re not just consuming; we’re acknowledging the people and histories behind them and shining light on the small businesses that quietly anchor our neighborhoods.

There’s also impact in the act of walking itself, especially in a car-centric city like Los Angeles. Choosing to walk reframes movement as accessible, communal, and grounding rather than performative. Culturally, walking is often dismissed as “not real exercise,” but that perception overlooks how meaningful and effective it can be. Walking supports physical and mental health in sustainable ways—particularly for women, whose bodies have historically been underrepresented in mainstream fitness research. Reclaiming walking as empowering rather than passive is part of the mission.

At its heart, LA Bakery Walk is about connection in a time when many of us feel isolated. I hope to create more of those unexpected moments when you realize you share mutual connections, are navigating the same season of life, or have been living parallel lives all along. Those small moments remind us that we’re more connected than we think, and that belonging is something we can actively create.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’ve always been deeply creative, even though my background is in STEM and I work in the corporate world. Much of my early years were rooted in the arts, and for a long time, that side of me lived quietly in the background. After graduating from college, I began exploring hobbies as creative outlets—one of them being baking, which has since become one of my biggest passions.

As much as I love thinking about business goals and big-picture strategy, I also love working with my hands: measuring precisely, adjusting flavors intuitively, and designing something from scratch. Baking mirrors how I think—structured yet creative. As a Taiwanese American, food has always been more than nourishment; it’s been a way culture is preserved, shared, and remembered. I’ve come to embrace duality, recognizing that we can be multidimensional and hold many interests and passions without confining ourselves to a single identity.

I didn’t set out to build something like this, and sharing it publicly wasn’t easy. Building in public invites opinions, criticism, and at times, negativity. One of the most important lessons I’ve learned is that rejection is often the price of authenticity. Not everyone will understand what you’re creating, especially when it doesn’t exist yet or fit neatly into a category. But if you stay aligned with your values, the right people will find you.

Although social media is my primary tool for reaching people, I’ve had to be intentional about protecting my well-being in a digital world that often amplifies noise and negativity. It may seem ironic, but I don’t rely on it to connect with friends. I thrive offline, and that’s exactly why I care so deeply about creating real-world connection.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
To my friends and family—thank you for cheering me on and keeping me grounded. I’m so grateful for your love and support.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/labakerywalk/