Pies, cakes, donuts, cookies, bundt cakes and gelato. If that wasn’t enough, beer, wine and coffee.
Visitors of Celebration Pointe will soon be able to order desserts and paired drinks at Decadent, a quick service dessert bar that will open in the first week of November, said Allen Steinfeld, the owner of the Gainesville location.
The Celebration Pointe location will be the sixth Decadent dessert cafe in the country, Steinfeld said.
The project, which cost about $200,000, is being developed by Level Architecture on 1,700 square feet of land leased from Celebration Pointe on a 10-year contract. While it has only been under construction for two months, when complete, the building will offer about 40 seats indoors and outdoors and be staffed by 10 workers, Steinfeld said.
Gainesville was chosen as the brand’s new location due to its diversity, college life and extensive foot traffic, Steinfeld said.
“I wanted a place that had a need for something different,” Steinfeld said. “I don’t think you’ll find anything like this around.”
Decadent is expected to be open seven days a week, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Wednesday and from noon to midnight on weekends, which includes Thursday, Steinfeld said.
At the cafe, customers will choose a dessert and Decadent staff members will suggest a pairing of a select beer, wine or coffee that would complement the item. A sweet wine, for example, would go well with a slice of original cheesecake, he said.
Customers will also be able to submit their own dessert recipes to the cafe, Steinfeld said. If the recipe is well received by the chefs, the dessert will then be a featured menu item for the week, named after its creator.
Menu items will range from around $4 to $7. Steinfeld called these prices affordable for students.
Amelia Minkin, an 18-year-old UF applied physiology and kinesiology freshman, said she’s planning on visiting and is excited to indulge in the cookie and brownie skillets. The concept of Decadent fascinated her as well.
“You can go to a coffee shop and only get a drink, but nothing paired,” Minkin said. “The whole idea is really neat.”
Contact Dana Cassidy at dcassidy@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter at @danacassidy_
A chocolate chip cookie skillet topped with gelato, chocolate and caramel sauce.
