Confectionately Yours Opens New Cafe

A new cafe by the owner of Confectionately Yours is now open at the Legacy building, 1920 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr., bringing a new option for coffee, breakfast and pastries to the Bronzeville neighborhood.

The new business, Confectionately Yours Cafe, has been in the works since before the pandemic hit, said owner Adija Greer-Smith, who first started selling her dessert creations at Sherman Phoenix Marketplace in 2018. Before that, she had operated a commercial bakery out of her home for about a decade.

“I think this will give us an opportunity to show the community another side of Confectionately Yours as a brand,” said Greer-Smith.

The grab-and-go cafe is mostly designed for commuters on their way to and from work, Greer-Smith explained. The connected coworking space, though it may look inviting, is reserved for small-business entrepreneurs who are members of the African American Chamber of Commerce, which operates out of the same building.

The cafe’s soft opening started Tuesday, Oct. 25 and will continue until the new year. Throughout the soft opening, the cafe will maintain limited hours and a limited menu.

Current offerings include a full range of hot and iced coffee and espresso drinks, teas and cold, non-caffeinated beverages including strawberry mint lemonade and “throwback” fruit punch.

The food menu will include an assortment of breakfast sandwiches and hot cereals, plus a selection of Confectionately Yours bakery items, such as cinnamon rolls, dessert bars, cookies, muffins and butter croissants.

Fans of the bakery’s other offerings, including its popular cake slices, peach cobbler and cheesecakes, will have to make the trip to Sherman Phoenix, 3536 W. Fond Du Lac Ave., where Greer-Smith said she will continue to operate the bakery with a heavier emphasis on dessert items.

“I’m excited about expansion,” said Greer-Smith, adding that although she is nervous about the huge responsibility of a second location, “I believe that with the overall support of the community and different organizations, they will help contribute to making sure that it’s a success.”

Aside from grab-and-go food and beverage, the cafe also plans to offer small-scale catering for businesses by providing pre-packed coffee and pastry boxes.

Confectionately Yours Cafe is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m.

The cafe is located within a 11,300-square-foot building on King Drive. The formerly-vacant storefront was redeveloped throughout 2019 and 2020 to be a coworking space for BIPOC entrepreneurs.

The project, known as the Legacy Campaign, was intended to create “the space necessary for African American entrepreneurs to build institutional wealth in the communities they serve,” said Chamber Board Chair Deborah N. Allen in a 2020 statement.

As the project progressed, the chamber was searching for a cafe and bakery presence and was hoping to see a small business grow in the building, Greer-Smith said.

“They immediately thought of Confectionately Yours, and since then, we’ve been working with the chamber to get it open,” Greer-Smith said. “I’m excited about the business moving in another direction. Any opportunity for growth is definitely a blessing.”