I first learned of the MacarOn Café when I attended an event there for the Trend Movement launch party last month. It was a gorgeous, cozy space, equipped with delicious macarons and beautiful, one-of-a-kind artwork. Little did I know; there are actually four MacarOn Café locations, one being right in our backyard in Tribeca!
With the grand opening of their 36th Street location coming up on June 1, it was the perfect opportunity to sit down and talk with the head pastry chef and founder of the café, Cecile Cannone, along with artist Roberto Barr, who is responsible for the decor and artwork in each of the cafés.
Cecile started her business along with her husband, Arnaud back in 2007 when they moved to the U.S. from France. According to her, she started making macarons back in France, where she perfected the “science” of baking them. For those of you that are unaware, macarons are a French confection made of egg whites, almond flour, and sugar, and looks like a tiny, fancy cookie. All the ingredients Cecile uses are locally sourced, and everything is made in the U.S.
Photo: Courtesy of the MacarOn Café
She and her husband opened their first café in the Garment District, and, according to Cecile, became a huge success due to its location and the type of people that worked there.
“We didn’t really have an objective of where we opened the location of our first café…it was just sort of what we could afford at the time, and it became a success because there were plenty of people working in fashion, who loved Paris and France, coming in and buying Parisian-style macarons because you couldn’t really find them anywhere else in the city at the time,” Cecile said.
Though they opened their first café shortly after moving to the U.S., Arnaud comes from a restaurant background with plenty of experience managing and operating various eateries. Soon after opening their first location, Cecile and Arnaud began expanding their business to other areas of the city, including Madison Avenue, 3rd Ave in Midtown, and of course, their location on Greenwich St. in Tribeca.
One of the many aspects that makes the MacarOn Café unique is the decor of each café. Artist Roberto Barr frequently collaborates with Cecile to come up with colorful and beautiful pieces to be displayed at each location. Cecile and Roberto conveniently met while her and Arnaud were traveling, and Roberto was their next door neighbor. Roberto frequently draws inspiration from his Brazilian culture roots, between the colors and themes in his work.
“He takes a lot of inspiration from Brazil, from the culture and folklore to the animals, and especially Brazilian carnival,” translated Cecile. “Even in his paintings, there are touches of Brazilian history incorporated into its composition.”
Photo: Courtesy of MacarOn Café
His work is different based on the café location; for example, at the Tribeca location, there is sculpture of a giraffe, appealing to the family-oriented atmosphere in the area. For the new opening at their 36th Street location, he is currently working on new pieces to be displayed in the 1,500-square foot space. Another great feature of the new café? There will be a runway running down the middle of the space, where guests can host fashion events. According to Cecile, the runway is meant to encourage those in the Garment District who are designers to show off their collections to gain exposure. The new space is big enough to host a variety of different events, including a small fashion show.
Another great aspect of the MacarOn Café is its macaron flavors. While serving delicious and classic flavors like pistachio, Nutella, and vanilla, Cecile likes to explore with the use of flowers as macaron flavors.
“No one else really uses flowers as an ingredient in the macaron…it comes from the south of France where we eat flowers, and I love using them when making the macarons. But we have the orange blossom, rose, lavender, and we’re introducing jasmine as a flavor for the season,” she said.
For the spring/summer season, Cecile has already introduced new macaron flavors, including blackberry and strawberry smoothie, and an apricot smoothie flavor will be released next week. The café’s menu also recently launched last week, and introduces new, fresh weekly specials, including a kale and quinoa salad.
The MacarOn Café is a great find that serves delicious macarons and offers salads, sandwiches, and soups. Their new location will be opening on June 1, and will be offering free macarons to those who come out to the opening, so be sure to check out their new store opening!
by Jackie Hart
