Article by Raven Armstrong.
This article was submitted by a contributing writer. To have an article published with The Connector, email editor@scadconnector.com.
When one walks into The Works market food hall, they find themselves overcome with a wave of smells, sights and sounds. There are food stalls squished together in every corner, each one brightly advertising the many treats to be found at its location. Tucked away in the corner, a smell of freshly fried sugar wafts into the main room, tantalizing passersby to stop and take a bite. The smells originates from MochiNut, one of the newest sweet spots in the city.
In the past month, there has been a rapid expansion of expensive, unique specialty desserts shops opening new locations all around the city. Partially due to large population growth leading to larger demand, but also largely due to the popularity of these intricate desserts as featured on social media like TikTok.
MochiNut
MochiNut is a new spot in The Works marketplace. MochiNut sells mochi donuts, a fried ring made with mochi flour that makes for a chewy and stretchy consistency.
Mochi donuts are a Japanese dessert that has only recently landed in the US after going viral on social media. The owner Yen Hoyen had no idea what a mochi donut was until she saw an ad online for them. They looked so delicious she “just had to try them,” and so she flew to Houston to try one for herself. She loved them so much she decided to bring them home to Georgia with help from her business partner Alicia.
She turned out to be one of several with the same idea. She was the last one of 6 people to reach out to MochiNut about bringing a location to Atlanta, but hers is the first one to open as of now. She said it’s hard to start a business with no experience, but her boyfriend helped her a lot with the paperwork and her business partner helped her a lot with the location. MochiNut has been open for about three weeks, but it’s doing quite well so far.
The Yard
The Yard Milkshakes near Centennial Olympic Park makes large “freakshakes” covered in other confections like frosting, brownies, blondies, cake and more. Originally funded through Shark Tank, The Yard has locations across the US, as mentioned on their website.
Ayanna Langston is the manager of this location and has been working there since it first opened in June 2020. She says the Yard gets lots of large groups including conferences, cheerleader groups, conventions and more. “[The job is] really fun,” says Langston. “You get to meet a lot of interesting people and get to make delicious treats.” The next step for The Yard is be opening a new store in Buckhead, which Langston feels with have a very different vibe and clientele.
Sugar Shane’s
Of course, when one looks up “best dessert in Atlanta,” Sugar Shane’s tends to top the list. A literal hole in the wall located underneath and behind a subway, this cookie shop has quickly taken locals and tourists alike by storm. The titular owner Shane Quilin started the business from his house in March 2020 after being inspired from a trip to New York City in 2019. He has no prior experience and taught himself to bake with “Youtube, the internet and trial and error.”
All recipes are original, and every cookie is unique. The cookies themselves at Sugar Shane’s come in many shapes and sizes; there is the “standard” flat cookie in a few limited flavors, but the dish of the house are the six to seven ounce stuffed cookies in wild flavors that are so rich one loses themselves in them. The availability of flavors changes every day based on the ingredients and the inspiration available. You never know what you will find, and last year there were over one hundred iterations of the cookies alone.
One employee at “the lab” as the location is called says it is an amazing work environment. It’s “amazing to watch Shane come up with creative and innovative flavors literally every week.” She has worked there since January and has noticed that recently there has been a huge uptick in service, there were two employees in October and there are almost 20 now and the customers match up to that.
Shane says the best part about being a small business owner is escaping the corporate space. The success of Midtown was surprising, and has allowed for many opportunities. The original plan was to move entirely to Sandy Springs, but the large success has turned the plan on its head and now the Sandy Springs location will just be a new location instead of a full move. “We want to open as many locations as possible,” says Shane. “Maybe interstate eventually, but Atlanta is home.”
The rise of specialty dessert has been a truly transformative experience for the city. Supporting local business has never been so sweet.
