{"id":855289,"date":"2026-06-09T14:51:31","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T14:51:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/855289\/"},"modified":"2026-06-09T14:51:31","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T14:51:31","slug":"kuluntu-bakery-opens-beautiful-new-east-oak-cliff-space","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/855289\/","title":{"rendered":"Kuluntu Bakery opens beautiful new East Oak Cliff space"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t\t<img width=\"1240\" height=\"1027\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Kuluntu-Sourdough-loaf-photo-by-Lauren-Drewes-Daniels.jpeg\" class=\"article-thumbnail-image wp-post-image\" alt=\"A stunning loaf of sourdough.\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"  \/>\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tA stunning loaf of sourdough. \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>Stephanie Leichtle-Chalklen launched Kuluntu Bakery in 2018 while living with her husband, Warren, in his native South Africa. There, the longtime baker perfected her sourdough loaves, as well as Cape Town favorites like buttery, cream-drenched malva pudding cake. When the couple returned to Leichtle-Chalklen\u2019s hometown of Dallas, she continued running the business from their kitchen.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Fast-forward eight years, and Kuluntu has amassed a loyal local following via pop-ups, deliveries and special events. This week, the bakery took a big step with the debut of its first permanent brick-and-mortar location at Cedar Crest\u2019s new East Dock development.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt has been a long time coming,\u201d read the Instagram post announcing the new shop. \u201c\u2018A labor of love\u2019 and \u2018It takes a village\u2019 are two adages that have never been more true.\u201d<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_swiper-wrapper swiper-wrapper\">\n<li class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2500\" height=\"1796\" alt=\"cinnamon rolls at Kuluntu bakery\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-40685607\" data-id=\"40685607\" data-aspect-ratio=\"1024 \/ 736\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Kuluntu-Cinnamon-Rolls-photo-by-Lauren-Drewes-Daniels.jpeg\"  \/>The cinnamon rolls are replenished often.\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2500\" height=\"1875\" alt=\"the pastry case at Kuluntu\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-40685606\" data-id=\"40685606\" data-aspect-ratio=\"1024 \/ 768\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Kuluntu-Pastry-Case-by-Lauren-Drewes-Daniels.jpeg\"  \/>On a rainy Sunday, all of this hit perfectly.\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2500\" height=\"1875\" alt=\"a cinnamon roll on a plate\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-40685604\" data-id=\"40685604\" data-aspect-ratio=\"1024 \/ 768\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Kuluntu-Cinnamon-Roll-photo-by-Lauren-Drewes-Daniels.jpeg\"  \/>The cinnamon rolls have a light icing over a dense and lovely pastry\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2500\" height=\"1875\" alt=\"the exterior of Kuluntu bakery\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-40685602\" data-id=\"40685602\" data-aspect-ratio=\"1024 \/ 768\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Kuluntu-Bakery-Exterior-Dallas-photo-by-Lauren-Drewes-Daniels.jpeg\"  \/>Kuluntu is part of a new development with a several retail spaces, including a vintage store next door.\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Sign up for the Food Alerts newsletter to get the latest stories delivered to your inbox<\/p>\n<p>THANK YOU!<\/p>\n<p>You&#8217;re all set.<\/p>\n<p>CLOSE\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>On Sunday, we dodged summer storms to grab a cinnamon roll, croissants and a sourdough loaf. The space is warm and inviting. Families and neighbors spread across tables and areas to enjoy a slow coffee and spectacular pastries. The case is refilled often from the large bakery in the back of the space. The coffee options are basic: drip coffees, lattes, flat white and rooibos teas. <\/p>\n<p>The word \u201cKuluntu\u201d means \u201ccommunity\u201d in the South African language of the amaXhosa culture \u2013 and it\u2019s more than just a name. In addition to earning a James Beard nomination and many other accolades for the bakery, Leichtle-Chalklen has a Master\u2019s of Public Service and Administration from Texas A&amp;M. She combines the two to run the business as a nonprofit social enterprise in support of a timely cause.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur mission is to co-create a more equitable food system by centering women and humanizing food workers,\u201d she says. \u201cThe profits that we get from the bakery go to funding our programming.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kuluntu\u2019s Women\u2019s Care Collective, for example, provides learning, professional development, and wellness opportunities. The Community of Changemakers program focuses on education around the food system. Looking ahead, the new physical location will include more ways for customers to engage with the mission, including literature and on-site classes. But first, the Grand Opening.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Opening schedule<\/p>\n<p>Starting June 11, Kuluntu Bakery at East Dock (900 E. Clarendon Dr., Dallas) will be open 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Thursday through Sunday. <\/p>\n<p>On Saturday, June 13 an all-day celebration will include children\u2019s activities, community baking, and a live DJ. For more information, follow @kuluntubakery on Instagram.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A stunning loaf of sourdough. Stephanie Leichtle-Chalklen launched Kuluntu Bakery in 2018 while living with her husband, Warren,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":855290,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5135],"tags":[5229,142149,15713,1596,97044,358,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":["post-855289","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-america","tag-breakfast-brunch","tag-coffee","tag-dallas","tag-openings-closings","tag-texas","tag-tx","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116720717473116280","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/855289","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=855289"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/855289\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/855290"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=855289"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=855289"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=855289"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}