Where the Croissant Reigns Supreme

Merlyn’s Patisserie in Traverse City is elevating the pastry game one creative ingredient at a time

By Brighid Driscoll | June 17, 2023

The French popularized it, pastry connoisseurs love it, and bakers revere it…it’s the almighty croissant.

A tedious process that involves layering dough with butter, croissant-making isn’t for the impatient. But a well-made croissant is a pastry worthy of its labor—a tender, lightly crisp exterior that shatters when bitten into, with layers of buttery goodness in between.

You want to know who’s taking croissants to a whole new level in Traverse City? Merlyn’s Patisserie.

A Pastry Calling

When Anna Kucharski and her brother Jun Dupra—the future owners of Merlyn’s—moved to Mancelona from the Philippines, they brought their love of cooking with them. “It’s a cultural thing,” Kucharski says. “We grew up around cooking every day. Learning how to cook when we were young, you eat what you make.”

They soon found kitchens in the Philippines were different from the kitchens in American households. Before moving to Michigan, they had a kitchen with a cooktop, but having an oven was new. “I didn’t have a baking experience until I was in high school,” Kucharski tells us. “We weren’t used to having an easy way to bake at home. But once I tried it, I really liked it.” She says the delicate nature of pastry making was new and exciting.

Kucharski was 19 and Dupra was 16 when they moved to Mancelona to be with their mom and stepdad. Soon after, Kucharski started attending school at Northwestern Michigan College (NMC) for accounting. She received her associate degree, but getting a bachelor’s in accounting didn’t feel right. “At that point, I just thought about how much I like cooking and how much it’s a part of who I am,” she says, so she switched gears.

Dupra has an eye for beauty and studied fine art at NMC. When Kucharski began the pastry program at the Great Lakes Culinary Institute, her infectious energy piqued his interest in the program. “A year or year and a half later, he started in the program too and just really loved it. With his background in art, there was an interest in creativity for him. I think he loves doing this more than me!” Kucharski says with a laugh.

A Fusion of Flavors

Now, back to those croissants. After working in the restaurant industry for several years, the siblings decided to take the leap to starting their own bakery in May of 2022. Merlyn’s Patisserie—which has no storefront for guests but now occupies a commercial kitchen on Barlow Street in Traverse City—is named for their mother.

“My mom has always provided for our family when we were growing up,” Dupra says. Even now, Merlyn helps out at the Sara Hardy Farmers Market in Traverse City, one of the spots where the family sells their delicious delicacies.

Dupra says the market has been an excellent way to share their Asian-French fusion pastries with customers, and the bakery already has plenty of glowing reviews and regulars. “I don’t know if you can get these kinds of pastries anywhere else in Michigan,” Dupra says. “It’s something different, and people like it.”

Today, the bakery is best known for its cornerstone creation, the Supreme Croissant.

“The Supreme Croissant is so popular and demonstrates all of the skills we’ve accumulated. All that knowledge and experience comes together, years of it, and we can make something like this,” Dupra says.

Croissants are notoriously finicky, and many hours of trial and error are behind a good pastry. But it’s an effort that has paid off for Dupra and Kucharski. The Supreme Croissant’s shape looks similar to a cinnamon roll, but its taste is all buttery croissant, with the addition of the flavor they’re selling that week, like chocolate and kalamansi (a lime-like fruit from the Philippines) meringue.

For the more standard, arc-shaped pastry, you’ll find classics like chocolate, ham and cheese, almond, and mixed berries and cream. They also have a chocolate-cherry bread pudding croissant, a monkey bread version, and one topped with “everything” seasoning.

But it’s the brilliantly purple ube croissant (pronounced ooh-beh) that folks around town seek out. Ube has a taste that’s been described as nutty, vanilla-like, and similar to sweet potato. The purple yam is a popular dessert ingredient in the Philippines and a flavor only a few in northern Michigan have had the pleasure of tasting.

That’s why Merlyn’s Patisserie is bringing these new flavors to the area by way of the pastries we know and love. “The unique flavors are meant to elevate the classic recipes, not overwhelm them,” Dupra says. “They’re a delicious way to get out and try something different.”

A Few Other Fan Favorites

First up is the milk bread, a soft, fluffy, Japanese-style bread made with milk, flour, sugar, and yeast. It has a slightly sweet and rich flavor with a tender and light texture, as adding milk to the dough gives it a creamy and delicate taste. Its versatility makes it perfect for sandwiches, French toast, or enjoying plain.

“It’s almost similar to brioche, but it’s a bit more on the sweeter side,” Kucharski explains.

And then, of course, there are the macarons. These colorful French pastries are made with egg whites and almond flour. They have a crisp exterior, a chewy texture, and a creamy filling sandwiched between two cookies.

Macarons come in various flavors, and Merlyn’s is no exception. A few of their flavor options include pistachio-raspberry, strawberry-chocolate, and yuzu-Earl Grey tea. “We like incorporating those Asian flavors, so we like mango, coconut, and yuzu. Yuzu is a Japanese lemon,” says Dupra.

From there, the menu houses treats to delight any baked-goods enthusiast, with eclairs, cookies, tarts, donuts, and other breads and desserts, including some savory items for when your sweet tooth has been satisfied. (Think Japanese sausage bread, Korean garlic bread, or the BA*ES muffin with bacon, sausage, Asiago cheese, and a whole soft-boiled egg baked inside.)

In every category, you’ll find something a little different, a little creative, and a lot delicious.

“We want to give people an experience more than anything, something they will enjoy and remember,” Dupra says. “We put a lot of time and care into our products because we’re very proud of what we do.”

Find Merlyn’s Patisserie pastries at the Sara Hardy Farmers Market this summer or by placing a pick-up order on their website at merlyns-patisserie.square.site.