French Flavor
By Naperville Magazine
Appears in the May 2026 issue.
By Peter Gianopulos
New Naperville patisserie serves macarons and more
Oh là là! Manoj and Minal Goswami snipped the ribbon in late February unveiling Le Macaron French pastry shop at 23 W. Jefferson Ave. in Naperville. It’s far from your typical family-run sweets shop and marks the newest addition—now more than 50 locations strong—of a growing macaron empire.
The majority of Le Macaron shops are franchises, so each projects a similar vibe. Imagine the board game Candy Land as designed by Coco Chanel. No kitsch, but the colors are glorious—a kaleidoscope of pastels displayed in a glass case—reflecting so many edible gems you might be tempted to break out a jeweler’s loupe.
The shop’s marquee attraction, macarons, are bite-size confections made with almond flour, sugar, and egg whites—two crisp meringue-style shells sandwiched Oreo style above and below jammy centers. The rounds range a rainbow of colors, from those tinted to look like lavender fields of Provence to ocher-colored tiramisu macarons that seem they were dipped in espresso foam.
Some flavors are pure France—pistachio, lemon crème, raspberry, and chocolate. Others, including black currant and mango offerings, are dairy free. And still others were created with American palates in mind, including a bubblegum variety rolled with rainbow sprinkles and a two-tone strawberry-lime offering that looks a summer sunset in Key West.
Given all this elegance, you’d assume that Le Macaron was borne from pure Parisian nostalgia, but in actuality, the brand was born from frustration.
In the late 2000s, cofounder Rosalie Guillem was aghast to find American bakeries hawking grotesquely shaped treacly macaron knockoffs. Having grown up in France, she felt a patriotic duty to show Americans what they were missing.
As luck would have it, her daughter Audrey was not only living in France, she was married to a French gourmand named Didier Saba. Together the trio decided to blend Old World techniques and flavoring agents with New World almond flour and taste profiles.
Their first location, which opened in 2009 in Sarasota, Florida, proved to be such a hit that they began franchising, offering budding boulangers and boulangères not only a business model but a full lineup of French pastry classics. “Macarons are not meant to be overly sweet,” says Kera Vo, the brand’s franchise development director. “The flavor should be more subtle and nuanced. The goal is enjoyment, not overindulgence.”
A noble sentiment, but it might be impossible not to go glutinous. The shop also offers French gelato—more custardy than the Italian version, with what Vo describes as more “refined” flavors. There are also rows of French eclairs, chocolates, and lychee-rose-raspberry cake that share shelf space with chocolate-coconut tarts and rich single-slice cakes.
Whatever you do, just don’t call it a bakery. Madame and Monsieur, you’re officially in Patisserie Land now.
Photos: Jen Banowetz
