The Central Avenue corridor in downtown St. Petersburg continues its development as a haven for foodies with the arrival of Sarasota-based Le Macaron. The French pastry shop chain — which has locations across the country, from Santa Monica, California, to Cambridge, Massachusetts — will be opening at 657 Central Avenue, formerly the home of The Juice Shack. 

Sunshine City residents, however, might already be familiar with Le Macaron: The company briefly operated a downtown St. Pete location more than a decade ago at 203 1st Street NE, which is now occupied by Elite Shoe Repair.

In fact, Le Macaron, founded in 2009 by Rosalie Guillem and her daughter, Audrey Saba, is no stranger to the greater Tampa Bay region: It already has a store at Tyrone Square mall in west St. Pete in addition to Sarasota and Wesley Chapel, with more locations coming soon to Clearwater and Tarpon Springs.

Rosalie and Audrey began to license the Le Macaron brand in 2012 and it has quickly grown to become one of the top bakery franchise businesses in the country, winning accolades from Entrepreneur magazine and FranchiseGator.com.

Le Macaron, however, is about much more than its namesake bite-size pastries. The menu also includes French gelato, classic pastries and cakes, gourmet chocolates, handmade candies, and artisanal European-style coffees. Some locations offer savory pastries, wine, and champagne.

“Our true French macaron is made with the finest gluten-free ingredients, no preservatives, and is about 80 calories each,” the Le Macaron website states. “Each of our signature pastries is handcrafted by our team of French chefs at our Le Macaron French Pastries commissary.” 

The sweet treats are available in a dizzying array of flavors, such as Belgian Chocolate, Sicilian Pistachio, Colombian Coffee, Bubble Gum, Mango Jam, Lavender White Chocolate, and Black Vanilla from Madagascar, just to name a few. Seasonal flavors include Pumpkin, Gingerbread, 4th of July, Easter Special, and Mon Cheri.

Le Macaron franchises also provide catering services. The shop can create a wide variety of macaron towers, gift boxes, party favors, and corporate gifts to suit any special occasion.

An opening date for Le Macaron’s downtown St. Pete shop has not been announced yet.

Jenna Malowany of KW Commercial represented the former tenant in the lease transaction.

For more information and updates, follow Le Macaron on Instagram.