House of Chimney Cakes Café brings Instagram-worthy pastries, savory plates to Ann Arbor

ANN ARBOR, MI – An Instagram-worthy café is bringing Hungarian sweet treats, coffee and savory platters to downtown Ann Arbor.

House of Chimney Cakes Café is a first for the California-based brand, which has other locations in California, Texas and Dearborn.

Amanda Debek, owner of the Ann Arbor café that opened in August, encountered the concept in Dearborn. Debek, a first-time restaurant owner, fell in love with the photo-friendly pink aesthetic and flaky dough that’s wrapped in a spiral around a wooden dowel before baking.

Working with founders Omar Lara and Szandra Szabó, Debek expanded the concept to include café-style espresso drinks and traditional milkshakes as well as savory platters, some of which are inspired by her Lebanese heritage.

Debek describes the traditional Hungarian chimney cake as a cross between a churro and a croissant that’s crispy and crunchy on the outside with a soft, sweet interior.

The pastries, named for their hollow tube shape when served, are pulled apart when eaten. As street food, chimney cakes are a mainstay of central European festivals and fairs. Szabó, who hails from Hungary, brought the concept to the U.S. in 2017.

“We have quite a few guests come in and say they’ve had it in Prague or the Czech Republic,” Debek said. “Even Hungarians have come in here and said, ‘Wow, this is just like home.’”

The Ann Arbor café offers plain chimney cakes, but like the chain’s other locations, is known for the social media-friendly towers featuring a filling of soft-serve ice cream and a multitude of themed toppings served in a paper cone.

One of the most popular is the Cookie Butter Dream chimney cake, which features a cookie butter-lined Biscoff-covered chimney cake, vanilla bean ice cream, caramel chocolate chip cheesecake bites and a Lotus Biscoff cookie with a caramel drizzle on top.

Debek is especially proud of the savory Royal platter, which features a Lebanese-inspired chimney cake with a special savory dough coated in za’atar spices, served with tomatoes, cucumbers, labneh - a traditional yogurt-based cheese rolled in spices - and olives with a pomegranate-infused olive oil.

“Even though our chimney cakes are hot, and it’s similar to grabbing a croissant or a donut, people think of us as just a sweet shop. We wanted to kind of break that barrier,” she said. “I brought a little bit of my culture in - I’m Lebanese - because we wanted to offer savory options.”

As the first café-style location for House of Chimney Cakes, Debek said the Ann Arbor restaurant is meant to serve as an all-day gathering place for students and community members alike. The all-pink interior appeals to social-savvy friend groups, couples on dates and University of Michigan student groups like sororities.

The café is decorated with photo-worthy backdrops, like a bench with pair of angel wings, neon signs spelling out slogans like “This is where the magic happens” and velvet-upholstered booths and chairs, all in shades of pink. Debek said the aesthetic is a perfect match for her personality.

“I’m a pink girl,” she said. “It’s fun, it’s flirty, it’s Instagrammable and photo-worthy.”

So far, the café has received a warm reception, Debek said.

“I’m so humbled by the support we’ve gotten from the community, and they love it,” Debek said. “It’s unique, they love the flavor - it’s a new addiction.”

Debek is hosting a charity event on Thursday, Oct. 23, in partnership with UM’s Zeta Omega Eta sorority during which 15 percent of proceeds will go to the PINK fund, an organization that provides financial assistance to those with breast cancer.

Debek is also planning a grand opening celebration for 1 p.m. Monday, Nov. 4. The event will feature mocktails, aerialists, stilt-walkers and other entertainment along with a 20-percent discount on all menu items.

House of Chimney Cakes Café, 216 S. 4th Ave. in Ann Arbor, is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. Customers can order online or book events on the café's website. Fittingly, the café is also active on social media.

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