The Office actor Leslie David Baker opens Honey Baked Ham in Sherman Oaks

Leslie David Baker has moved from playing Stanley Hudson on The Office to co-owning a Honey Baked Ham in Sherman Oaks, a rare crossover into one of restaurant retail’s most standardized franchise models. The store opened June 22 at 14427 Ventura Boulevard, with a grand opening celebration set for July 11.

Baker co-owns and co-operates the location with Tony Vennie, a Sherman Oaks resident who works as a music producer, brand strategist and entrepreneur. Vennie said, “Growing up, HoneyBaked was always part of our holiday traditions.” The partnership gives the store something most chain openings do not have: a recognizable local face who lives in the neighborhood and can pull attention to a brand built on repeat traffic, especially around holidays and office lunches.

Honey Baked Ham was founded in 1957 and now has more than 400 locations nationwide, including stores in Glendale, Northridge, Culver City and Pasadena. That footprint matters for workers because it signals a system that runs on consistency, training and speed, not improvisation. The Sherman Oaks shop adds ham, turkey breasts, sides, desserts, family meals, sandwiches and lunch options to Ventura Boulevard, serving the San Fernando Valley with a menu that depends on smooth counter service and steady prep work.

For a franchise like this, Baker’s involvement could affect more than publicity. A celebrity-backed opening can create an early rush that pressures staffing, while a local co-owner with neighborhood ties can help build the kind of community traffic that keeps schedules full after the novelty fades. The real test comes after the grand opening banner comes down: whether the store can keep enough trained workers behind the counter, in the back room and on the lunch line to handle the holiday spikes Honey Baked depends on.

A Loyola University Chicago profile published in spring 2026 said Baker, 68, was living in Sherman Oaks and already working on the Honey Baked Ham venture while continuing to do short films and commercials. That makes the Sherman Oaks opening look less like a one-off celebrity appearance and more like a long-term operator move, with Baker stepping into a business where brand familiarity may bring people in, but day-to-day execution will determine whether the new location becomes another busy stop on a crowded stretch of Ventura Boulevard.