Dining Woops! Here It Is Get a sugar fix at this delectable dessert store BY VALERIE VINYARD Ellie Lippel is always looking for ways to sweeten the pot. Sweeten her customers’ pots, that is. As the owner of Woops!, a bakery and dessert spot on University Boulevard next to Pei Wei, she caters to sweet teeth in Tucson. Especially in these trying times, sometimes dessert is all we’ve got. Guests walking into the compact space, they’ll notice the all-white interior, with exposed brick on one side and lots of flowers. The atmosphere is playful and welcoming. “You can’t help but walk into the shop and smile,” she says. “It’s a feast for the senses.” Her smiling eyes are often working behind the counter. Woops! was started by her friends in New York, for whom she did marketing. “As they were expanding, it was the perfect opportunity to bring it to Tucson,” she says. “It certainly was a new chapter for
both of us. It was as an opportunity on a lot of different levels.” So, Ellie and her sister, Naomi Lippel, opened a Tucson Woops! in August 2016. Ellie, who grew up in Tucson, lived in Israel and New York City for 15 years before returning to Tucson. “We always wantEllie and Naomi Lippel opened a ed to do something Tucson Woops! in August 2016. (Submitted photos) together,” Ellie says. Choosing a location close to the University of Arizona has macarons a month. “The community is so helped, too. Ellie notes her shop gives a lot generous and kind. It’s been a joy.” of European students a sense of home. The 741-square-foot shop has an im“Opening a business in Tucson is a gift,” pressive display case of colorful macarons. says Ellie, who noted that before the pan- The 16 flavors are created in a New York demic, the shop sold about 9,500 to 10,000 bakery, as macarons are “very finicky” to make. Tables are available outside for people who want to linger or enjoy one of the shop’s featured sandwiches. Plenty of baking takes place in the Tucson shop, though. An array of pastries, including cookies and croissants, is created in house. Make sure to try the incredible pasteis de nata ($3), a Portuguese golden custard tart. Joshua Manis, owner of Brain Stem, a company that provides enrichment programs to schools, is a fan of the Woops! almond croissant. Woops... continues on page 13
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