Exclusive | Struggling Santa Monicas sudden bakery boom with $7 croissants and 45-minute wait times

The early bird gets the croissant.While many Santa Monica businesses are struggling to keep their doors open, a handful of wildly popular bakeries are bucking the trend — drawing pastry obsessed customers out of bed before sunrise and selling out of their buttery creations by lunchtime.The city’s latest success story is Matilda, which is whipping up pastry pandemonium since opening a few weeks ago near the Santa Monica Airport.

The bakery has been drawing crowds of eager customers, with some arriving well before opening at 8 a.m.to score one of its coveted croissants.

Head baker, Francois Pied, told the California Post that the first three weeks have been nothing short of chaos.The biggest news, opinion and culture shaping California right now.

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Never miss a story The team had anticipated a low-key debut, staffing the bakery for what they though would be a relatively quiet soft opening.Instead, customers came pouring in.

Matilda is now churning out roughly 500 baked goods each weekday and as many as 1,000 on weekends.These buttery treats don’t come cheap, with a classic croissant setting customers back $6, sandwiches $17, and baguettes $6.50.But even hefty prices tags, long waits, and copious quantities haven’t been enough to satisfy Santa Monica’s growing appetite for artisanal pastries.Matilda’s has been selling out as early as 10:30 a.m., leaving the team scrambling to increase production.The hype has gotten so out of hand that customers are reportedly waiting in line for up to 45 minutes — only to sometimes reach the counter and discover croissants, cookies or baguettes are already sold out.The situation even prompted Matilda’s to issue a public apology to its growing legion of fans on Instagram.“To everyone who has stood in our line,” the bakery wrote in a post.

“We see you waiting o...