Find macarons in flavors like Fruity Pebbles, honey lavender at new Ruston spot
There’s a new source for macarons, the delicate French sandwich cookie, at the Waterfront Market at Point Ruston.
Aba Macarons, which has weaved around Tacoma’s farmers markets and other pop-up events since 2022, in addition to custom orders, now has a permanent stall at the small-business marketplace near Point Ruston. Owner Mercedes Sanchez announced soft-opening hours, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., starting July 3.
The first 50 guests on Friday will receive one free macaron.
She plans to be there through the Fourth of July weekend, which stands to be busy with fireworks and other festivities along the Ruston Way waterfront and Dune Peninsula. It’s technically a soft-opening, she told TNT Diner in a phone call on Thursday, as she still has some decorating to do in the new space and some previously scheduled summer events in the coming weeks.
Sanchez runs the operation solo, “so I need to bake to have something to sell!” she said with a laugh.
She has been making macarons in Tacoma since 2022. The name of her enterprise, Aba, was inspired by her grandson’s cute way of saying “abuelita,” a term of endearment for an abuela. She learned to love the petite treats, which are naturally gluten-free thanks to their almond-flour base, while working as a prep cook at another bakery.
“I watched them make it, and I said, ‘One day I’m gonna be doing this!’” she recalled. “It’s been a long journey, up and down, and throwing away a lot of macarons that don’t come out. But I’m here.”
Macarons are infamous for their peskiness, fooling even seasoned bakers, from the egg-white meringue that can easily be overwhipped to the essential step of carefully folding the batter until it resembles hot lava or flowing ribbons, and of course the precise temperature of the oven.
Macarons for Tacoma
Staple flavors include vanilla bean, toasted coconut, lemon, espresso and guava, but she said her bestsellers are hands-down the honey-lavender and Fruity Pebbles (the cereal infused into the buttercream and sprinkled around the cookie!). She also highlighted seasonal summer flavors that will be available soon, such as strawberry rhubarb, lemon-lavender, chocolate-passionfruit and yuzu-lemon with passionfruit. A “golden peanut butter crunch” was a recent limited-edition hit, featuring a peanut butter filling and a chocolate ganache coating with peanut crumbles. Other combos have hit the Dubai chocolate trend as well as birthday cake, mocha, raspberry vanilla and strawberry lemonade.
“I like to make everyone happy,” she said, “and come up with new ones.”
Sanchez recently attended the first couple sessions of The Pacific Northwest Market at Ruston, hosted by Everwild Events, where she said she sold out. That market runs every other Saturday, 2-7 p.m., through Sept. 12 (July 11 and 25, Aug. 8 and 22) at the Grand Plaza. She also has set up tents in Gig Harbor, at the Haunted Farmers Market on South Tacoma Way and the Black Night Market.
Success at a few pop-up events at the Waterfront Market inspired her to consider a more permanent setup at that location, which she said is more affordable than pursuing her own brick-and-mortar. Stalls are limited, though, so she waited patiently for one to open up. She got the call a couple weeks ago and rushed to launch in time for the busy holiday weekend.
When you enter the market from the surface parking lot, head straight down the middle aisle to the back and look for Aba Macarons in the corner space.
Aba Macarons
- Inside Waterfront Market, 5101 Yacht Club Road, Ruston, abamacarons.com
- Starting Hours: Friday-Sunday 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
- Details: local macaron bakery opening new stall at Ruston marketplace July 3; follow instagram.com/aba_macarons for updated hours and flavors
- Custom orders, including macaron towers and party favors, available via online shop