Levain Bakery, the New York City chain known for its six-ounce cookies, has opened at Fashion Island in its first Orange County location.

The Newport Beach store at 315 Newport Center Drive is Levain's 20th location and its first in California outside Los Angeles, according to the Irvine Company's Newport Beach Community Connection. On opening day in early September, customers lined up around the corner to the koi pond. A Los Angeles news helicopter hovered overhead to capture the scene, the Orange County Register reported.

By 4 a.m. that Friday, people were waiting in the parking lot. By 8:40 a.m., nearly 400 had queued up, according to the Daily Pilot.

Co-CEO Taya Stenson said the company had been scouting Orange County for a few years before settling on Fashion Island. "When we visited Fashion Island, we immediately noticed the kids, dogs, families and friends enjoying the center," Stenson said, according to the Irvine Company profile. "I saw two people running toward each other outside what became our storefront, and hugging."

The bakery traces its roots to 1995, when founders Pam Weekes and Connie McDonald opened a small bread shop on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Both competitive triathletes, they created the dense, six-ounce chocolate chip walnut cookie as fuel for Ironman training. The cookie overtook the bread.

Levain now sells nine cookie varieties at the Newport Beach store, along with sourdough breads, brioche, sandwiches and espresso drinks. A savory cacio e pepe scone is new for fall. The barista bar features a custom mural by Southern California artist Janice Chang, rendered in sand tones and Levain's signature blue, according to the Irvine Company.

The opening fits a broader pattern at Fashion Island. The Irvine Company told the Register that Fashion Island and Irvine Spectrum now host 83 dining and specialty-dining concepts between them, with 16 opening in the past two years. Combined foot traffic at the two centers rose 18% over five years, the company said.

Weekes and McDonald will appear at Barnes & Noble Fashion Island on Nov. 11 at 6 p.m. to discuss their 30th-anniversary book, Levain Bakery: A Story of Friendship, Community, and Cookies. Ten percent of the book's proceeds go to Hot Bread Kitchen, a culinary job-skills training organization.

The bakery is open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.