Libby Roach takes a first look at the new location of AG Macarons.
The corner of Dupont and Christie just got sweeter with the recent (soft) opening of AG Macarons. The team behind AG Macarons, Anet Gesualdi and her husband Michael chose this location (close to Stubbe Chocolates) for more than its walkability score—the building has been in the family’s possession since the 1950’s. Their first location, open since 2014 on the Queensway, specializes in the tiny Parisian sweets, and while the Dupont shop shows many similarities, one noticeable difference is the square footage—the impressive new space is much larger than its sister store.
Flanked by a bright pink awning (that just barely hides the tailor shop’s original signage) the adorable store has gorgeous wood plank flooring, authentic to the year the store opened in the 50’s. The all-white space offers some retail therapy (think cake stands, mugs and aprons) as well as grab and go teas and macarons. Exclusively carrying the Sloane Tea brand, you can take your tea straight up ($2.65), blended with lemonade ($3.45), on ice ($2.75) or in a fancy tin ($17.50) to make at home.
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Macarons are their speciality, and with 14 signature flavours, a rotating flavour of the month as well as 6 limited edition offerings, you would be hard-pressed not to find a flavour to go with that Marrakesh Mint tea. Popular picks include their Birthday Cake, Cotton Candy or Salted Caramel offerings, or their unique jelly donut macs, all starting at $2.25 a mac. Boxes give you a slight discount for more volume, with their on-trend packaging making a striking gift choice. A box of 6 will set you back $13, 12 go for $24 and 24 macarons are $52. If you’re looking to branch out, but are still firmly resolved to raise your blood sugar, then grab an intricately decorated cookie from Hello Baked for $4 each.
The back of the store features their event space. While nothing is set in stone as of yet, expect classes that go hand in hand with the overall frilly pink aesthetic, like calligraphy classes or flower arranging. Since the baking all takes place in their commercial kitchen, there won’t be any hardcore cookie baking classes here, although theoretically, a decorating class (gingerbread houses fit for royalty) wouldn’t be totally out of context.
Following years of toiling for Bay Street big banks, the sugary sweet couple defected to open this shop, after discovering the complicated confections in Paris years earlier. Anet studied baking at Bonnie Gordon and developed her mac recipe after six months of trial and error. Michael joined the company late last fall, making this a truly family-run business.
Mark your calendar for the September 12th grand opening, which will feature samples of their trademark macs and tasty teas.
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Related Link: First Look: ALO, Queen West’s latest in elegant dining
All images: Libby Roach
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