Macarons Are Sweet
New macaron shop sends East Dallas on a sugar high
Casa Linda Plaza gets an upscale bump with the opening of Savor Patisserie, a bakery that specializes in stunning French macarons.
Nicely made macarons are by their very nature pretty, but the ones made by Savor are notably beautiful, with unusual colors and highly creative flavors.
Savor is from Kelli Watts, who was still working for Neiman Marcus when she first began baking macarons for fun. The hobby turned into a bit of an obsession, and Watts decided to take a leap. Things have moved quickly, with sales that surpassed expectations and a quick pop-up at the Shops at Park Lane.
"We were supposed to be at the Shops at Park Lane for a month during Valentine's Day, but it went well and the complex was happy to have us stay longer," she says.
That said, the space at Park Lane was too big for a bakery, so she found a sweet storefront at Casa Linda Plaza, in a former art studio and AllState office. She's given it a chic black-and-white makeover, with glossy white tables and midcentury-modern-style Eames-inspired chairs.
"It's 850 square feet, which is just what we need, perfect for a counter and a few tables, and it has a loft space upstairs for our baking classes, which are very popular," Watts says.
They offer 15 basic flavors, such as vanilla, raspberry, coffee, and lemon, which they supplement with an additional four to six rotating flavors each month. She recently did an eye-catching coconut flavor, with a cool blue color. September has a "movie concessions" theme, with a popcorn-flavored macaron that's both sweet and buttery and salted. "There'll also be a Warhead candy flavor — we're excited because people generally don't do sour macarons," Watts says.
One other priority for her is to observe customer-friendly hours: The shop is open seven days a week, and it stays open until 9 pm Mondays through Saturdays, and until 8 pm on Sundays.
"I've noticed that a lot of bakeries close at 6 pm, but people work until 6 pm," she says. "It's worked out great. There's a lot of foot traffic at Casa Linda Plaza, and our busiest hours are between 7 and 9 pm. There's an evening crowd of people who want to come by and get a treat."
