Local Love: Spruce Confections
Photo by: @spruceconfections
In the heart of Boulder’s vibrant food scene, Spruce Confections has been a beloved local bakery and café since 1992. What began as a humble one person operation quickly grew into a community favorite rooted in the philosophy of making everything from scratch. Founder David Cohen first started baking cookies in his best friend’s basement on Spruce Street, hand delivering what would become the famous “Old B Cookie” to local cafés. Despite having no formal culinary or business training—his background was actually in music composition from the Oberlin Conservatory, Cohen built the business piece by piece, handling everything himself in the early years from baking and bookkeeping to sales and delivery. Over time, the small cookie venture grew into a thriving bakery, supported by a talented team that continues to expand and refine the menu while maintaining the same handmade philosophy that started it all.
That small beginning helped establish a tradition of fresh, handcrafted baking that continues today, with each scone, croissant, pastry, soup, and sandwich prepared daily using simple ingredients and time honored techniques. The bakery’s mission has always centered on community, from the welcoming spaces inside each café to the care put into every layer of pastry and loaf of bread.
Photo by: @spruceconfections
The menu at Spruce Confections reflects the bakery’s longstanding commitment to quality with a homemade feel. Known for its buttery scones and muffins baked fresh daily, the pastry case also features handmade croissants in classic, chocolate, almond and savory ham and Gruyère varieties, along with specialty pastries like crown muffins and cinnamon pecan schnecken. Beyond pastries, guests can enjoy house made pies and quiche with all-butter crusts, daily soups, breakfast sandwiches on fresh croissants, panini, cold sandwiches and gluten free wraps, making it just as popular for lunch as it is for morning coffee. The bakery also offers a wide selection of sweet treats including cookies, brownies, raspberry bars, coffee cakes and tea breads, plus house made granola and custom cakes for celebrations, making it a go to Boulder spot for both everyday indulgences and special occasions.
In addition to serving customers in its cafés, Spruce Confections also operates a robust wholesale program that supplies baked goods to independent coffee shops across Colorado. Through this program, cafés and businesses can offer a selection of Spruce’s handcrafted pastries, baked goods and savory items on their own menus. The wholesale program is designed specifically for coffee shop partners looking to elevate their pastry case with high quality, made from scratch products. Over the years, the bakery has grown its wholesale network significantly, supplying dozens of partners throughout the Front Range while maintaining its commitment to small batch production and fresh ingredients.
Photo by: @spruceconfections
More than thirty years after its humble beginnings, Spruce Confections remains a true Boulder institution, one built on simple ingredients, handcrafted baking and a genuine commitment to community. Whether stopping in for a flaky croissant and coffee, grabbing a slice of cake for a celebration or enjoying a bowl of homemade soup on a cold Colorado day, visitors can experience the same passion and dedication that began with one baker, one cookie and a basement kitchen on Spruce Street.
This Boulder favorite has four different locations (including one in Longmont) to help you get your caffeine and sugar fix. The original downtown location is located at 767 Pearl Street and is open daily from 7am to 4pm. The other locations have the following hours of operation for your convenience:
Uptown Boulder: 4684 Broadway | Open daily from 7am to 5pm
North Boulder: 4740 Pearl Parkway | Open Monday through Friday 8am to 3pm
Longmont: 600 South Airport Road | Open daily from 7am to 5pm