If you’re trying to shop locally more often, this list is for you.
If you love dessert, this list is for you, too!
Experience Grand Rapids polled their followers on social media to find out which sugar shops in town are the sweetest. These are the businesses that rose to the top:
Le Bon Macaron
Back to Top of ListEnjoy your tasty purchase from Le Bon Macaron in their charming European-style café or bring an elegantly packaged box of macarons home with you.
Photo by Experience GR (Taken by Bree Girard)
For a taste of Paris in Grand Rapids, Le Bon Macaron in Uptown is a must-visit. The family bakers here have perfected the art of the French macaron – a delicate, crunchy sandwich cookie filled with rich, intensely flavored buttercream.
In addition to a rotating selection of 100+ macaron flavors, Le Bon Macaron offers scones, ice cream sundaes, hand-crafted sodas, specialty coffees and gourmet teas. It’s elegant enough for a special occasion, yet affordable enough for everyday.
You can enjoy your sweets in the charming European-style café, or bring an elegantly packaged box of macarons home with you. You can also shop online for shipping, curbside pickup or delivery.
Rise Authentic Baking Co.
Back to Top of ListAll of Rise Authentic Baking Co's baked goods are gluten-free, soy-free and vegan!
Photo by Brian Craig for Experience Grand Rapids
If you have any dietary restrictions that make feeding your sweet tooth tricky, Rise Authentic Baking Co. will make your day, because all of its baked goods are gluten-free, soy-free and vegan!
You can enjoy Rise’s delectable cakes, cupcakes, breakfast pastries, dessert bars, cookies, breads and more at the company’s West Side café, just around the corner from John Ball Zoo. It’s a joint venture with Squibb Coffee, a local coffee shop, so patrons can enjoy a variety of fresh coffees, teas and espresso beverages along with Rise’s tasty baked goods.
You can also find Rise products at a number of other coffee shops and retailers around Grand Rapids, including Bridge Street Market, Kingma’s Market and Harvest Health Foods.
Sweetland Candies
Back to Top of ListLocals love Sweetland’s handmade seafoam, turtles, truffles, creams, cordials, clusters, barks and other chocolatey treats.
Photo by Experience Grand Rapids (taken by Bree Girard)
Sweetland Candies is a fourth-generation family confectioner launched in Grand Rapids in 1919, and it has stood the test of time; locals still rave about Sweetland’s many handmade treats, including seafoam, turtles, truffles, creams, cordials, clusters, barks and more.
The company operates two local stores – one in Grand Rapids and one in Rockford – each offering a selection of sweets, specialty coffees, teas and ice cream beverages, which you can enjoy on site or grab and go. Boxed chocolates, baskets and towers are popular gift items that any chocolate lover is sure to enjoy.
Cakabakery
Back to Top of ListFun fact: Cakabakery owner Jason Kakabaker appeared on Food Network’s Cupcake Wars in 2013.
Cakabakery has been providing mouthwatering delights (including vegan and gluten-free options) to the Grand Rapids area since 2010. Stop into the boutique bakery’s Uptown location for a rotating selection of unique and craveable cupcakes, cookies, cakes and dessert bars.
Cakabakery is also a go-to resource for custom desserts of all flavors, fillings, shapes and sizes – and its creations are a staple of local weddings and special events. A second location in Holland caters to lakeshore residents and visitors.
Fun fact: Cakabakery owner Jason Kakabaker appeared on Food Network’s Cupcake Wars in 2013, so you can bet he knows a thing or two about delicious desserts.
Mokaya
Back to Top of ListHandpainted chocolates and picture-perfect desserts look almost too good to eat. (But eat them Grand Rapids does!)
Photo by Experience Grand Rapids
Mokaya has been handcrafting truffles, bonbons, pastries, chocolate bars, desserts, frozen treats and more in its Uptown location since 2016. Their unique flavors – such as a dark chocolate Thai basil black pepper truffle – make Mokaya one of the sweetest, and most unique, shops in Grand Rapids.
Mokaya even pays tribute to Grand Rapids’ award-winning craft beverage scene by including locally made beers and spirits in some recipes. Check out their “beer flight” and “spirit flight” selections.
In addition to pleasing the palate, Mokaya goodies dazzle the eyes. Their hand painted chocolates and picture-perfect desserts look almost too good to eat. (But eat them Grand Rapids does!)
The Salted Cupcake
Back to Top of ListFun Fact: The Salted Cupcake has 220 cupcake flavors in their recipe book!
Photo by Experience Grand Rapids (taken by Bree Girard)
Almond Joy. Bacon Chocolate Chip. Chicken and Waffles. Fried Oreo. Gin and Tonic. Key Lime Pie. Nutella Cookie Butter. Peanut Butter Blossom.
These are just a few of the 220 cupcake flavors in The Salted Cupcake’s recipe book. Every week, it showcases 12 or so of them – including vegan and wheat-free selections – for in-store purchase. You can also special order any of the 200+ flavors in quantities of 24 of a kind.
Check The Salted Cupcake Facebook page for its weekly selection.
Brown Butter Creperie and Cafe
Back to Top of ListBrown Butter's best seller is the France crepe, made with Nutella, fresh strawberries, bananas and whipped cream – it’s tres, tres bon!
Photo by Experience Grand Rapids
Opened in 2017 inside Uptown’s distinctive windmill building, Brown Butter serves up a taste of the continent via gourmet sweet and savory crepes, Belgian waffles, Italian sodas, specialty coffees and more.
Though there is a quaint, French atmosphere inside, everything here is made from scratch with as many Michigan-sourced ingredients as possible. The cafe is also quite accommodating for various dietary restrictions, as they offer gluten free and vegan substitutions.
More Sweet Treats
Back to Top of ListYou can never have too many sweet choices in life – so here are a few more local sugar-fix favorites:
Arnie’s Bakery. This family-owned bakery has been making cakes, cupcakes, tortes and other sweet treats in Grand Rapids since 1905 – goodies are available at the original West Side bakery location and at dozens of retailers across West Michigan.
Kilwin’s. Both the Downtown and East Grand Rapids locations are justly famed for their hand-paddled Mackinac Island Fudge and “Original Recipe” ice cream in freshly-made waffle cones.
Love’s Ice Cream. Located in the Downtown Market Grand Rapids, Love’s crafts its own ice cream and gelato along with an array of fine chocolate confections. Dairy-free, gluten free, and nut free options abound!
Lyon Street Café. Located in the Heritage Hill neighborhood, this neighborhood café offers a variety of fresh-made pastries and other baked goods to complement its high-quality beverages, sandwiches and charcuterie plates.
Steenstra’s Royal Dutch Bakery. Dutch family recipes are the basis for the delicious pastries, donuts, cookies, cakes and pies at this Grandville bakery.
Wealthy Street Bakery. This Uptown bakery features a rotating daily selection of fresh-baked muffins, cookies, scones, bars, Danishes and more, including vegan and gluten-free options.
We’ve only just scraped the tip of a very large, very sugary iceberg when it comes to sweet treats in Grand Rapids/Kent County. Where will you go first to satisfy your next sugar craving?