Almost every Reading, Pa. native has a story about Sweet Street Desserts: a birthday cake that was the best gastronomic experience of their 10-year-old life or a baseball practice that ended with an exquisite tray of cookies brought by a parent who just happened to be a Sweet Street employee. But many locals may not realize that Sweet Street has become the world’s top-rated dessert leader in both taste and appearance with concoctions that delight first-class flyers and grace Michelin-star restaurant tables around the globe. Still owned and operated by its original founder, Sandy Solmon, Sweet Street Desserts is a gem hiding in plain sight—let’s take a peek inside.
Almost every Reading, Pa. native has a story about Sweet Street Desserts: a birthday cake that was the best gastronomic experience of their 10-year-old life or a baseball practice that ended with an exquisite tray of cookies brought by a parent who just happened to be a Sweet Street employee. But many locals may not realize that Sweet Street has become the world’s top-rated dessert leader in both taste and appearance with concoctions that delight first-class flyers and grace Michelin-star restaurant tables around the globe. Still owned and operated by its original founder, Sandy Solmon, Sweet Street Desserts is a gem hiding in plain sight—let’s take a peek inside.
The Story Behind Sweet Street
In 1979, in Reading, Pa., Sandy Solmon started baking classic American cookies in a two-bay garage. Tirelessly testing recipes and ingredients, she struck the perfect balance: a harmonization of flavor, texture and the elusive dimension of artfulness that separates good cookies from great ones. As her cookies caught on and the following for her small production grew, Sandy’s dessert portfolio expanded and Sweet Street Desserts was born.
Today, Sweet Street is the leading innovator in the dessert industry. The company is still owned and operated by Sandy and headquartered in Reading, Pa. where Sandy also is the head of research and development, leading a team of like-minded, passionate researchers and recipe developers who now bake for restaurants around the globe.
Amazed by the power of good food shared, Sandy’s collaborative experiences inspired her to open Café Sweet Street. As you enter, you are warmly greeted with the aroma of freshly baked croissants, Sandy’s legendary cookies (of course), and other classics such as cheesecakes, towering chocolate cakes, brownies, bars, stacks and fresh cups of pour-over coffee. The café features made-from-scratch lunches from pure, locally sourced ingredients.
Throughout the years, Sweet Street challenged itself, over and over again, to innovate every aspect of its operational model, from its research and development endeavors to its ingredient sourcing and production processes. The fearless pursuit of excellence has been a guiding light for Sandy and her team on their journey to the top of the dessert industry; here’s what that looks like today…
The Story Behind Sweet Street
In 1979, in Reading, Pa., Sandy Solmon started baking classic American cookies in a two-bay garage. Tirelessly testing recipes and ingredients, she struck the perfect balance: a harmonization of flavor, texture and the elusive dimension of artfulness that separates good cookies from great ones. As her cookies caught on and the following for her small production grew, Sandy’s dessert portfolio expanded and Sweet Street Desserts was born.
Today, Sweet Street is the leading innovator in the dessert industry. The company is still owned and operated by Sandy and headquartered in Reading, Pa. where Sandy also is the head of research and development, leading a team of like-minded, passionate researchers and recipe developers who now bake for restaurants around the globe.
Amazed by the power of good food shared, Sandy’s collaborative experiences inspired her to open Café Sweet Street. As you enter, you are warmly greeted with the aroma of freshly baked croissants, Sandy’s legendary cookies (of course), and other classics such as cheesecakes, towering chocolate cakes, brownies, bars, stacks and fresh cups of pour-over coffee. The café features made-from-scratch lunches from pure, locally sourced ingredients.
Throughout the years, Sweet Street challenged itself, over and over again, to innovate every aspect of its operational model, from its research and development endeavors to its ingredient sourcing and production processes. The fearless pursuit of excellence has been a guiding light for Sandy and her team on their journey to the top of the dessert industry; here’s what that looks like today…
Meet Sandy
Sandy Solmon hadn’t initially planned to start a business; she simply found comfort and joy in cooking:
“Back in the tumultuous early 1970s, in the quiet morning hour before dashing off to an assignment as a photojournalist in Berkeley, I found almost mystical solace in making and serving my cinnamon-swirled, sour cream coffee cake. It was a touchstone then as it is now. My friends and I were young, footloose adventurers, but when we came together in my kitchen for much-needed conversation and coffee, it was as if I’d brought ‘home’ to the table. Everything about that cake was grounding for me—the baking process, the aromas, the buttery crumb, and the way it reminded everyone of their grandmothers, only better.”
Sandy and her team have grown the company to become a globally recognized dessert brand and in 1994, the Company was awarded 15 U.S. copyrights for the design of food products. In 2014, Sandy was named the recipient of the Cornell University Hospitality Innovator Award.
More than 15 years ago, Sandy began to notice hidden preservatives and additives in many of Sweet Street Desserts’ ingredients. After the research & development and purchasing teams dug into more suppliers and vendors, it quickly became evident that priorities in the food supply had changed—the focus was on convenience, not quality. Sandy’s personal commitment to eating naturally, however, gave her confidence that the arduous process of overhauling their methods would be worth it in the long run.
Sourcing authentic ingredients has always been paramount to each and every decadent dessert. From hand-selecting South American chocolates to choosing locally harvested crisp apples, Sweet Street’s dedication to premium ingredients and collaborative explorations are part of the DNA of its success.
Lots of additives and preservative enhancements simply aren’t necessary when you build flavor in layers and work with fresh, wholesome ingredients—not to mention the extraordinary innovations Sweet Street has developed in safe packing, freezing technologies and logistics.
And while the transformation was tough, having to match flavor and function of ingredients in their 300+ dessert portfolio, all while delivering fiercely loyal customers the unparalleled taste and quality they have grown to expect, Sweet Street Desserts was ahead of the game when consumers began demanding cleaner, less processed foods. Its team takes pride in knowing that they don’t just create decadent desserts that look good and taste good, but foods their fans can feel good about too.
More than 15 years ago, Sandy began to notice hidden preservatives and additives in many of Sweet Street Desserts’ ingredients. After the research & development and purchasing teams dug into more suppliers and vendors, it quickly became evident that priorities in the food supply had changed—the focus was on convenience, not quality. Sandy’s personal commitment to eating naturally, however, gave her confidence that the arduous process of overhauling their methods would be worth it in the long run.
Sourcing authentic ingredients has always been paramount to each and every decadent dessert. From hand-selecting South American chocolates to choosing locally harvested crisp apples, Sweet Street’s dedication to premium ingredients and collaborative explorations are part of the DNA of its success.
Lots of additives and preservative enhancements simply aren’t necessary when you build flavor in layers and work with fresh, wholesome ingredients—not to mention the extraordinary innovations Sweet Street has developed in safe packing, freezing technologies and logistics.
And while the transformation was tough, having to match flavor and function of ingredients in their 300+ dessert portfolio, all while delivering fiercely loyal customers the unparalleled taste and quality they have grown to expect, Sweet Street Desserts was ahead of the game when consumers began demanding cleaner, less processed foods. Its team takes pride in knowing that they don’t just create decadent desserts that look good and taste good, but foods their fans can feel good about too.
Across from the café and business offices on Hiesters Lane, Sweet Street’s baking facilities hum with excitement and activity from food scientists, researchers, bakers, finishers and technicians. While thousands of desserts flow through the production floor, research and development specialists experiment with tastes and textures in the test kitchen to bring their ever-evolving inspirations to life.
The recently renovated test kitchen provides dedicated space for Sweet Street dessert experts to test new ideas they’ve collected from an eclectic mix of places: top restaurants, influencers, exotic locations, farms and fields.
Knowing that the best foods come from a place of love and creativity, Sandy encourages the Research and Development team to travel, eat and explore culinary destinations near and far.
And when a new recipe comes out of the oven, the crew still gathers around the communal table and tastes for the same qualities that made customers fall in love with the very first batch of Sweet Street cookies.
Across from the café and business offices on Hiesters Lane, Sweet Street’s baking facilities hum with excitement and activity from food scientists, researchers, bakers, finishers and technicians. While thousands of desserts flow through the production floor, research and development specialists experiment with tastes and textures in the test kitchen to bring their ever-evolving inspirations to life.
The recently renovated test kitchen provides dedicated space for Sweet Street dessert experts to test new ideas they’ve collected from an eclectic mix of places: top restaurants, influencers, exotic locations, farms and fields.
Knowing that the best foods come from a place of love and creativity, Sandy encourages the Research and Development team to travel, eat and explore culinary destinations near and far.
And when a new recipe comes out of the oven, the crew still gathers around the communal table and tastes for the same qualities that made customers fall in love with the very first batch of Sweet Street cookies.
Sweet Street’s ripples of success have spread far and wide, with its epicenter squarely impacting Reading, Pa. and the surrounding areas.
If you’ve ever attempted to make a really good, delicious, homemade cake completely from scratch, using only clean ingredients, you know how much love, time and care can go into the process.
Now imagine making 250,000 of them.
Sweet Street Desserts bakes and ships 10,000 cases of desserts each day from its Reading, Pa. location and another 100,000 of individually wrapped cookies and dessert bars from its satellite bakery in Greenville, South Carolina—a task that takes a small army of hands and hearts. Every Sweet Street employee, from its mixers, mechanics and material handlers to its customer service, marketing and executive teams, works in tandem to share moments of indulgence with the world.
To ensure that its many handcrafted desserts are all perfectly baked, finished and boxed with care, Sweet Street employs 585 people from the Berks County area, bolstering the local economy and job market. It also works closely with several workforce development programs and initiatives to provide opportunities for the next generation of workers.
Believing in “the power of good food shared,” Sweet Street takes on collaborative passion projects locally, nationally and internationally that address food security, education, women farmers and entrepreneurs and the arts.
Sweet Street’s ripples of success have spread far and wide, with its epicenter squarely impacting Reading, Pa. and the surrounding areas.
If you’ve ever attempted to make a really good, delicious, homemade cake completely from scratch, using only clean ingredients, you know how much love, time and care can go into the process.
Now imagine making 250,000 of them.
Sweet Street Desserts bakes and ships 10,000 cases of desserts each day from its Reading, Pa. location and another 100,000 of individually wrapped cookies and dessert bars from its satellite bakery in Greenville, South Carolina—a task that takes a small army of hands and hearts. Every Sweet Street employee, from its mixers, mechanics and material handlers to its customer service, marketing and executive teams, works in tandem to share moments of indulgence with the world.
To ensure that its many handcrafted desserts are all perfectly crafted, finished and boxed with care, Sweet Street employs 585 people from the Berks County area, bolstering the local economy and job market. It also works closely with several workforce development programs and initiatives to provide opportunities for the next generation of workers.
Believing in “the power of good food shared,” Sweet Street takes on collaborative passion projects locally, nationally and internationally that address food security, education, women farmers and entrepreneurs and the arts.
Innovation on the Horizon
Humans have been breaking bread together since the dawn of time and when those moments involve sharing a sweet, luscious treat? Well, there’s not much better than that. The team at Sweet Street knows that their desserts are intimately entwined with life’s celebrations and memories; they undertake their work with passion, joy and a deep sense of responsibility. In this spirit, Sweet Street keeps its hearts, minds and doors open—ready to serve up friends, fans, families and foodies their next culinary adventure.
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