Baker Tabatha Griffith believes the Haddon Avenue business district is the perfect place to introduce her brand of baked goods to a new audience.
By Matt Skoufalos | March 11, 2024
Tabatha Griffith produces dozens of confection flavors at Tesoro Macaron Company. Credit: Matt Skoufalos.
The newest retailer in downtown Collingswood is banking on shoppers leaving a little extra room in their weekends for a sweet treat.
Tabatha Griffith of Tesoro Macaron Company found early success with the launch of her business in Swedesboro two summers ago.
Now she believes her specialty confections will receive a comparable welcome on Haddon Avenue.
A baker since childhood, Griffith spent a decade teaching middle-school social studies and language arts in Woodstown.
When her oldest daughter turned five, Griffith baked her a birthday cake, and posted photos of it online. The wave of feedback that followed from other parents asking if she would take on commissions put Griffith back into her baker’s apron part-time.
A friend eventually asked whether Griffith had ever made a macaron. She learned in no time why it remains among some of the most challenging recipes to master.
“If you overmix it, it’s ruined; if you undermix it, it’s ruined; if it’s raining out, it’s ruined,” she said. “I looked at my friend and said, ‘Absolutely not.’”
After months of persistence from her friend, Griffith finally gave in and tried her hand at baking macarons. She said her initial batch was uninspired — but that only drove her to dig in further.
“I would make them every day,” Griffith said. “I watched hundreds of hours of YouTube; tried dozens of different recipes. Finally, they started looking decent.”
When she’d gotten her macarons the way she wanted, Griffith posted pictures to her social media, and the response was overwhelming. She began to believe there was enough of a niche in the local baking scene to support a bakery designed around macarons.
“There’s bakeries on every corner, but not everyone makes macarons,” Griffith said. “Because I am a very hard specialization, I felt it set us apart.”
Tesoro Macaron Company also retails small-batch cupcakes and cookies. Credit: Tesoro Macaron Company.
The tipping point came in April 2022, when Griffith’s high-school friend called to say she’d outgrown her brick-and-mortar storefront in Swedesboro.
She offered it up as a potential site for a bakery.
Griffith opened up shop there in July 2022, and resigned her teaching position a week later.
She chose the name for her bakery, Tesoro, from the Italian for “treasure,” at her godmother’s suggestion.
“That’s perfect, because macarons are little treasures,” Griffith said.
In late 2023, Griffith got a message from a customer whose friend was putting up a retail space in Collingswood for lease. After they toured the shop, her husband Shawn encouraged her to seize the opportunity of an additional location.
“He looked at me and said, ‘You have to do this,’” Griffith said. “[With your partner] encouraging you, saying, ‘It’s going to be amazing, I support you,’ it really does make all the difference.”
The macarons at Tesoro span a dozen different flavors, six of which — chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, caramel, birthday cake, and Oreo — are always on hand. The other six vary seasonally. Typical French macarons tend towards floral flavors, but Griffith isn’t afraid to chart her own path.
“My favorite thing about macarons is how unique you can make the flavors,” she said. “I bring a little more of an American taste profile. It allows me to be as creative as I can.”
This spring, seasonal macaron flavors include: raspberry white chocolate, pistachio, blood orange, lavender lemonade, marshmallow peach, and shamrock shake. They’re sold singly, by the dozen or half-dozen, or larger quantities for custom orders; Griffith also offers a complementary menu of cupcakes that vary in flavor as well.
For now, the Collingswood location (661 Haddon Avenue) is open weekends only, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Tesoro Macaron Company is also available weekdays in Swedesboro, and in seasonal pop-ups at George’s Candy on the boardwalk in Ocean City throughout the summer.
For more information, call 856-240-7289 or visit tesoromacaroncompany.com.
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