ALLENTOWN, Pa. – A popular bakery, specializing in made-from-scratch French treats like tarts, croissants and macarons, is making moves in Lehigh County.
Sophistiqué – French Bakery, offering artisanal French pastries and other baked goods, will move this summer from 924 W. Walnut St. in downtown Allentown to a larger location a couple of blocks away at 960 Hamilton St. in downtown Allentown, owner and French pastry chef Sophie Vandecasteele told 69 News this week.
The plan is for Sophistiqué to continue operating at its original West Walnut Street location through late June before reopening at its new Hamilton Street spot in either late June or early July, Vandecasteele said.
Sophistiqué – French Bakery is planning to move to a new location at 960 Hamilton St. in downtown Allentown this summer.
The bakery’s forthcoming location will operate near 10th and Hamilton streets, across from the Moxy Allentown Downtown Hotel.
It will occupy a soon-to-be-renovated space that previously housed a cigar shop.
Street parking will be available, and there also will be a small parking lot behind the Hamilton Street property, Vandecasteele said.
“I’m very excited,” Vandecasteele said.
“Since the new place is going to be bigger, I’ll have a separate, bigger kitchen where I can make more items. We’ll also be offering some drinks as well, and there will be a few tables for seating.”
Sophistiqué – French Bakery operates at 924 W. Walnut St. in downtown Allentown.
Ryan Kneller
Vandecasteele opened the bakery on West Walnut Street in November 2024 after amassing a large and loyal fan base over the previous two years at local pop-up events and farmers markets.
Sophistiqué focuses on typical French baked goods such as fresh baguettes, croissants, pain au chocolat, and brioches, along with French pastries like tarts, eclairs, mousse cakes and millefeuilles.
Everything is “homemade and prepared from scratch with quality ingredients,” Vandecasteele said.
Sophistiqué – French Bakery
“The most popular items are the croissants,” Vandecasteele said.
“We have a lot of different varieties of croissants, like pistachio berry, chocolate and almond, and we also offer different danishes and savory croissants. With the new location, we’ll have even more lunch options, like sandwiches on French baguettes as well as salads during the warm months and soups during the winter.”
Vandecasteele, who was born and raised in France and moved to the United States about nine years ago, held pop-up events in 2022 at Jay’s Local – a neighborhood eatery in Allentown’s West End – where she sold pre-packaged items such as shortbread cookies, hazelnut cakes and quiches such as red pepper and feta, bacon and cheese and salmon and cheese.
In early 2023, she began making her food fresh on-site at Jay’s Local with a recurring pop-up bistro, Sophistiqué.
Prior to opening her own, brick-and-mortar bakery, Vandecasteele also garnered followers by selling her treats at local farmers’ markets.
She labels her bakery a dream fulfilled and is “so thankful for everyone’s support.”
For her new location, Vandecasteele plans to build Sophistiqué’s team to accommodate more production.
Sophistiqué – French Bakery
She plans to start the hiring process soon.
“Business has been good, and I’m very thankful,” Vandecasteele said.
“So, when I had this opportunity to have a bigger space, I took it. I definitely needed more storage and more space to work. Now, I just need to find the right people to help the bakery grow.”
Sophistiqué remains open at its current Walnut Street location from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and 7:30 a.m. to noon Saturdays.
For the latest Sophistiqué updates, follow the business’ pages on Facebook and Instagram.