After 53 Years Faldyn Hanging Up His Apron, Finally Finds Right Buyer for Iconic LG Bakery
‘Heart’ of Lukas Bakery Earns a Well-Deserved Retirement, Passes His Rolling Pin, Recipes On To a New Owner
For many bakers, their lives go unnoticed behind the scenes in the early morning hours, but for baker Larry Faldyn, his name and Lukas Bakery go together like pigs in a blanket. And at the end of this month, after 53 years, he has decided to hang up his apron and finally retire.
What started as dating Carol, the owner’s daughter, became a love story, family traditions, long hours of hard work, and longer years of dedication.
Opened in November 1947 by baker Raymond Lukas and his wife, Lucille, the bakery is well known for its scratchmade kolaches, one-of-a-kind pigs in a blanket, and recipes and traditions that have been preserved for decades.
After Raymond passed away in 1978, Carol described Larry, who had already been working alongside Raymond as his apprentice baker, as the heart of the bakery because, without him, Lukas Bakery wouldn’t have remained the hometown staple it has continued to be. He stepped up and became the bakery’s full-time baker.
Larry knew his retirement was coming at age 70 and de-cided to put the bakery officially on the market in 2022. “I am going to miss my customers the most, and my goal was to see the business continue, and I’m hoping they keep it the same.”
And that is exactly what new owner Yvette Epstein plans to do. “It’s funny how many people tell me that every week. They say “you have to keep the pigs,” I hear them, and I can say the pigs are staying,” said Epstein, who bought the bakery last year.
“I looked at the bakery for a few years, but never could figure out how to make it all work, as I was still employed in Houston. Then I drove past it again in 2025, and the sign was in the window, so I called Larry. I met him and Pat and immediately liked both of them and left there knowing I would try to find a way,” said Epstein.
“I decided to move forward and take the leap. The financing for the purchase of the building was done by Fayette Savings Bank in La Grange, and after buying the bakery, I loved it even more. Lukas is a real part of the community. The customers are frequent and predictable: two pigs and an RC on Thursdays, three pigs and a chocolate milk on Tuesdays. I love it. And to me, that speaks volumes about the need for this bakery to continue. It is a part of the community, and I plan to keep it that way.”
Epstein, along with new baker, P.J. Wynne, who has an art and culinary degree and was executive pastry chef at Sandra Bullock’s Austin restaurant, Walton’s Fancy and Staple, for over a decade, trained alongside Larry.
“P.J. is creative, innovative, and has a specialty in making amazing cakes. Together, she and I will create the new lineup of products and will bring some new twists to the original products,” said Epstein, and reassures me that the pigs will remain.
With retirement also comes one thing Faldyn has been looking forward to: enjoying sleep. Faldyn would usually get to the bakery at midnight and work sixty-hour workweeks, including night shifts and holidays. Along with getting more rest, he plans to do outdoor work and will continue to lend an extra hand at the bakery when needed.
And one time he may return to help at the bakery is during the holiday season, when their popular fruitcakes, made entirely from scratch, of course, are in demand. It’s a recipe Faldyn recalls as the one that took the most time to perfect and stands out the most for bringing people together.
“Father Zientek was a joker who always made me laugh and always bought our fruit cakes. Good storyteller,” said Faldyn.
“I am most proud that I was able to take care of my family all these years, and all my family members have worked here,” said Faldyn. “That is what I want to be remembered for the most, as a hard worker who provided for a family.”
As for Faldyn’s daughter, Jamie Smith, she has mixed feelings about her dad retiring and the ownership change. “I’m happy cause it’s time for sure, but sad cause it’s just such a big part of all our lives. All my family has worked there at one time or another,” said Smith.
“I think because my mom’s family started it and it meant so much to her, it’s kind of like another goodbye.”
And that’s just it. Goodbyes are hard and never easy, but they are necessary to see the path ahead and to enjoy the most rewarding part, the people we meet along the way.
“The thing I find most rewarding is the gratitude of so many people over the years, through the generations I have been able to serve,” said Faldyn. “I just want to say thank you so much because what else can I say.”
Baking is not just a skill picked up and perfected over time. It’s love, patience, and a vision folded into the batter, and that is Larry Faldyn, a true baker.