The Sweet Boutique opens in East Longmeadow

When Niki Moran first tried decorating a cookie she said it went terribly.

She was working as a surgical neurophysiologist at the time and was looking for a creative outlet. But it didn’t go the way she expected.

“It was so bad,” she said laughing.

She tried again when she got pregnant.

“And then I just became obsessed with it,” she said.

She slowly got better and better at the designs. Eventually she posted a photo on her personal Facebook page. Someone then commented asking if she’d make cookies for their baby shower.

She charged $2 per cookie and it took her a week to complete the order as she was still working as a surgical neurophysiologist.

“She posted a picture and it blew up from there. Like everybody messaged me,” Moran said. “It was all word of mouth. And it exploded so fast.”

She quit her job at the hospital in 2020 to purse the business out of her kitchen full-time. Then in August, about seven years after her first cookie sale, she opened a store in East Longmeadow called The Sweet Boutique.

The East Longmeadow store, The Sweet Boutique, is a new bakery.

The store is Instagram friendly complete with a “treat yourself” sign and backdrop. Pink chairs decorate the inside along with pink straws, silverware and napkins. The straws are also in the shape of hearts.

The store sits next to community outdoor seating for additional space.

The glass cases are filled with fun treats, such as various flavors of macarons, cookies and a Rice Krispies, brownie mashup. There are also coffees, including four different types of pumpkin drinks, a lemonade Red Bull and a drink called The Cat, which includes brown sugar cinnamon shaken espresso with oat milk.

Currently, Moran’s favorite drink is the pumpkin crème brulée cold brew.

But the treats and drink specials change.

“My favorite thing is to come up with different flavor combinations and different things,” she said. “I just sit in the back with my baking manager and we bounce things off of each other and make a whole list.”

Next week, many of the treats will be Big E themed as the annual fair comes to West Springfield.

“So, I’m like, ‘What can we do that’s fair food,’” she said, adding they already make a bakery item that combines a brownie, Oreos and a cookie. “And I was like, ‘What if we do fried Oreos?’”

Other ideas include fried dough cookies and cinnamon sugar doughnut cupcakes.

Although The Sweet Boutique has only been open a month, Moran said she already sees regulars who have been customers of hers for years.

They’ve also started a rewards program, which gives customers a free treat on their birthday and a buy one get one free offer every 10th visit.

Another option is to buy a reusable cup. The cups are $100 but come with free coffee every day for the rest of the year. Each month, Moran added, the cups will get a little less expensive since the deal won’t be for as long.

But it’s not just about saving customers money, it’s also about reducing waste.

“We’re really into reducing waste,” she said. “We have somebody who comes in and takes all our compost every week.”

They looked into compostable cups, rather than using plastic cups, but there weren’t many good options. Instead, they’re encouraging the reusable cups.

Moran still fills custom cookie orders. Although, they aren’t currently taking any additional orders. And everything in the store is made by them, with the exception of the coffee, which comes from Monsoon Coffee.

Making everything themselves, however, comes at a cost. Once it sell outs, it’s sold out.

“I would suggest coming in early because we do tend to sell out,” she said.

One of the days they opened at 10 a.m. and were sold out by 10:15 a.m.

Click here to get an inside tour.

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