A sweet new shop has opened in Allen: Joy Macarons has opened a location in the Watters Creek Village shopping center, at 908 Watters Creek Blvd., previously home to Sublime Chocolate, which sadly closed during the pandemic in 2020.

Joy Macarons is a family-owned, Dallas-based bakery specializing in French macarons, plus macaron ice cream sandwiches and ice cream made in-house which you can get in scoops, sundaes, and Mac-shakes.

The concept made its debut in 2014 with its first store in Oak Cliff, and has since grown slowly and deliberately, with a location that opened on Greenville Avenue in 2016 and another in Fort Worth at the Shops at Clearfork in 2017.

Founder Liz Lanier says they're thrilled to expand their footprint into Collin County, a location that has been in the works since 2021.

They gave the space a bright, fun interior that Lanier says complements the current lineup at Watters Creek.

"It's a perfect environment for introducing Joy to new customers," she says in a statement. "We also have lots of loyal fans nearby and the new store will give them a more convenient way to get their Joy!" She seems excited.

When Joy first opened macarons weren't quite a trend yet. Macarons are doing great these days, says Lanier's partner Jason Lanier.

"Sales were slow during the initial phases of the pandemic, but our stores have stayed very busy since late 2020," he says.

Signature flavors include pistachio, rose berry, chocolate hazelnut, strawberry, lemon fleur de sel, vanilla, and double chocolate.

They also launch at least one new macaron and one new macaron ice cream sandwich each month, as well as a new flavor of scooped ice cream every one to two months.

Starting September 1, they'll be featuring six State Fair of Texas-themed macarons at all stores: Texas Sheet Cake (with a printed image of Big Tex), Cotton Candy, Caramel Apple, Maple Bacon, Cherry Pie, and Candied Pecan. Clever.

Beyond the innate appeal of any kind of cookie, macarons are also pretty and pastel, making them a popular option for weddings, parties, and holiday celebrations. To that end, Joy will make custom flavors, designs, displays, and packaging to suit your needs.

Their ice cream sandwiches are also available at many partner restaurants, hotels, and retailers throughout DFW, in flavors such as Cereal Milk, with fruity pebbles ice cream in a white chocolate shell, and lavender cookies with lavender-infused ice cream.