Rose City Sweets owner Kassie Hopkins smiles for a photo as she prepares for the grand opening of her new bakery on Saturday. 

A new bakery recently celebrated its grand opening in Tyler. Rose City Sweets, owned by married couple Kassie and Marcus Hopkins specializes in a dessert you don’t see every day — macarons.

Although the bakery also offers other sweet treats such as cookies, cakes, and an assortment of pastries, it has a knack for creating the perfect macaron.

The bakery is the first of its kind in the area, according to Kassie Hopkins. It’s an idea she said came after being laid off due to COVID-19.

“I was a kitchen supervisor at Brook Hill in Bullard when COVID shut down schools. I was laid off for the time being and my husband was working 60-plus hours at BGC Warehouse,” she said. “I was pregnant with our youngest daughter and it was such an uncertain time for everyone. I wanted to help my husband take some of the stress of having to work crazy hours to support us.”

“I asked myself, what does Tyler not have that is needed — a good quality macaron. Thus, Rose City Sweets was born,” Hopkins said. “We are the first exclusive macaron bakery in Tyler.”

Hopkins said while she stays behind the scenes and concentrates on baking, her husband is the friendly face of the business.

“My husband is known to everyone as ‘Cookie Man’ or ‘Mac Daddy,’” she said.

Hopkins explained she and her husband often come across people who have never tried a macaron and she is always eager to see them try it for the first time.

“My husband best describes a macaron as mix between a cookie and a cake. They have the slightest crisp as you bite into them and a slightly chewy texture with luscious butter cream, ganache or jelly center,” she said. “If you’ve only had store-bought, frozen macaroons, I urge you to give us a try. You will find there is absolutely no comparison.”

The bakery offers 20 flavor choices a day as well as Texas-sized macarons which Hopkins says are almost twice the size as regular-sized ones. It also offers gluten free options.

Hopkins said she can’t wait to open and serve her hometown.

“We are a local, small business. Both my husband and I were born and raised in Tyler. We take pride in our city which is where our business name came about,” she said. “We have five children and we are very family oriented people and we are so excited to share our amazing, unique product with Rose City.”

The Rose City Sweets grand opening included a visit from Santa, who was at the bakery for free photos. Anyone who made a purchase during the event was entered in a chance to win free macarons for a year, one dozen per month.

Small businesses Fireside Bath Co. and Dangling Divas was also onsite selling bath and jewelry items for last minute Christmas shopping. HTeaO was at the event with mini gallons of tea for purchase.

Rose City Sweets is located at 13233 Frankston Highway and can be reached at 903-266-0382. Hours of operation are Wednesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For more information, visit the Rose City Sweets Facebook page.