Dear St. Louis,
In 2020, I started baking for my three sons. They have chronic asthma, and during the pandemic I wanted treats in the house that I could stand behind - made by my own hands, with ingredients I chose. I posted a few photos on Facebook. Then the line wrapped around our Belleville home, and my husband started delivering orders himself.
That is how The Sweet Creamery began: as a family's kitchen that a neighborhood happened to find. I never went to culinary school. My training is tradition and love - recipes from my two aunts, one a published master chef, the other a self-taught baker, and from a table that has always held African, Middle Eastern, French, Native American and African American dishes at once.
In 2023 we opened our first brick-and-mortar. In June 2025, we opened the Midtown café at 2801 Locust - our biggest room yet, with high ceilings, natural light, flowers on the tables and seventeen seats. Across the river in Illinois, our Fairview Heights shop at 4541 N Illinois St carries the same case. The emerald-green walls and gold trim are not a theme. They are a tribute.
The room is built to honor my grandmother's emerald-and-gold wedding ring - so that every visit feels like an occasion.
Everything we serve is halal, and nearly everything starts from scratch each morning. The case changes daily because I bake what inspires me - seven menu boards and counting. The fruit-shaped mousse pastries can take up to three days to make. Our booza, the Arabic ice cream at the center of the menu, is my own recipe: rosewater and cream, churned for hours, sugar-free, gluten-free, vegan and organic.
We are still a family operation. We still make small batches, which is why the case sometimes sells out before closing. We still answer the phone. If you call ahead, we will tell you what is in the case today, set something aside, or start planning your custom order - the same way this all started, one neighbor at a time.
Come sit in the emerald room. Stay until eleven.
Aliyah Almasri Owner & pastry chef, The Sweet Creamery
