ALLENTOWN, Pa. \u2013 A popular bakery, specializing in made-from-scratch French treats like tarts, croissants and macarons, is making moves in Lehigh County.<\/p>\n
Sophistiqu\u00e9 – 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.<\/p>\n
The plan is for Sophistiqu\u00e9 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.<\/p>\n
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Sophistiqu\u00e9 – French Bakery is planning to move to a new location at 960 Hamilton St. in downtown Allentown this summer.<\/p>\n
The bakery\u2019s forthcoming location will operate near 10th and Hamilton streets, across from the Moxy Allentown Downtown Hotel.<\/p>\n
It will occupy a soon-to-be-renovated space that previously housed a cigar shop.<\/p>\n
Street parking will be available, and there also will be a small parking lot behind the Hamilton Street property, Vandecasteele said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m very excited,\u201d Vandecasteele said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince the new place is going to be bigger, I\u2019ll have a separate, bigger kitchen where I can make more items. We\u2019ll also be offering some drinks as well, and there will be a few tables for seating.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Sophistiqu\u00e9 – French Bakery operates at 924 W. Walnut St. in downtown Allentown.<\/p>\n
Ryan Kneller<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Sophistiqu\u00e9 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.<\/p>\n
Everything is \u201chomemade and prepared from scratch with quality ingredients,\u201d Vandecasteele said.<\/p>\n
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Sophistiqu\u00e9 – French Bakery<\/p>\n
\u201cThe most popular\u00a0items are the croissants,\u201d Vandecasteele said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe 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\u2019ll have even more lunch options, like sandwiches on French baguettes as well as salads during the warm months and soups during the winter.\u201d<\/p>\n
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 \u2013 a neighborhood eatery in Allentown\u2019s West End \u2013 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.<\/p>\n
In early 2023, she began making her food fresh on-site at Jay\u2019s Local with a recurring pop-up bistro, Sophistiqu\u00e9.<\/p>\n
Prior to opening her own, brick-and-mortar bakery, Vandecasteele also garnered followers by selling her treats at local farmers’ markets.<\/p>\n
She labels her bakery a dream fulfilled and is \u201cso thankful for everyone\u2019s support.\u201d<\/p>\n
For her new location, Vandecasteele plans to build Sophistiqu\u00e9\u2019s team to accommodate more production.<\/p>\n
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Sophistiqu\u00e9 – French Bakery<\/p>\n
She plans to start the hiring process soon.<\/p>\n
\u201cBusiness has been good, and I\u2019m very thankful,\u201d Vandecasteele said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sophistiqu\u00e9 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.<\/p>\n
For the latest Sophistiqu\u00e9 updates, follow the business\u2019 pages on Facebook<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n