Mad for macarons? Dying for some Duke chocolate cake? Craving cookies?
Duchess dessert lovers will soon have another option to satisfy their sweet tooth, as the French bake shop is opening a second location across the river from their flagshop store this fall.
Duchess Bake Shop‘s southside location — Little Duchess — will in the Ritchie Market.
“This will be a cute, petite version of ourselves, and we can’t wait to be part of Ritchie’s exciting food scene alongside our friends at Biera, Blind Enthusiasm, Transcend Coffee and Acme Meats,” co-owner Giselle Courteau, alongside partners Garner Beggs and Jake Pelletier, said in a statement.
The company is known for its high-quality, classic French desserts and on the weekend it isn’t uncommon for the line to stretch out the door of their central Edmonton bakery.
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“To all the southsiders who have urged us to open a shop south of the river, we heard you and we can’t wait to serve you closer to home,” Courteau said.
“This was a big decision for us, and we have worked hard to deliver the same high quality baked goods Edmontonians have come to love from our Westmount location.”
Courteau said for years she wasn’t interested in opening a second location because it was enough work just keeping up with the demands of the original shop, but then the space in Ritchie became available.
“It’s taken us a really long time to think about what it would look like to open a second location. We took the decision extremely seriously.
“We want to make sure that the product that is being sold at Richie is exactly the same quality and the same product that we sell at the bake shop on 124th Street.”
The store will be smaller than the location on 124 Street in the Westmount area, but will serve bakery’s greatest hits, including its world-famous macarons, delicious The Duke cake, cookies and pies from a condensed menu.
“Once the opportunity to come to Richie came up, we couldn’t say no — it was just too good,” Courteau said, adding it’s a vibrant food community they are excited to be a part of.
A selection of items from Duchess Provisions — the company’s line of take-home goods for home bakers — will also be available at the new location, including Valrhona chocolates, vanilla, flours and jars of salted caramel.
The Ritchie location will offer coffee and drinks from Transcend Coffee next door.
Little Duchess will open exactly 10 years after Duchess Bake Shop opened its doors on 124 street, with three employees and seating for 10. The company has since grown to 55 employees and produces 1,500 macarons a day.
The opening, tentatively set for November, also coincides with the October release of Courteau’s second cookbook, Duchess at Home, which is being published by Random House Canada.
In 2014, the company self-published its eponymous cookbook, Duchess Bake Shop, which has since won three international cookbook awards.
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The local bakery has also attracted international attention. In May, 2018, co-owners Giselle Courteau and Jake Pelletier, along with their teammate Sarah Gallagher, were the only North-American team to compete on reality TV show Le Meilleur patissier-Les Professionels, the French version of The Great British Bake Off.
And in 2015, Duchess Bake Shop and was named #4 of on Buzzfeed’s list of 23 bakeries to eat at before you die, which called it “Arguably the best bakery in Canada.”
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