1. Sweet Life Patisserie, 755 Monroe St., 541-683-5676, SweetLifeDesserts.com.

2. Noisette Pastry Kitchen, 200 W. Broadway, 541-654-5257, NoisettePK.com.

3. Metropol Bakery, 2538 Willamette, 541-465-4730, MetropolBakery.com.

The Reinhart sisters began icing wedding cakes in their Eugene garage in the Whiteaker neighborhood. Decades later, Catherine and Cheryl Reinhart grew their makeshift bakery into two popular Sweet Life Patisserie locations. After visiting France in college, Catherine brought pastries across the Atlantic Ocean and into the Oregon town, she says “Eugene got it right off the bat.”

“People understood organic, natural and local, all the things we really valued as well. It was nice offering something that people understood, and we didn’t have to explain it,” Catherine says.

“This community has been so incredibly enthusiastic and they come in and they buy things, and we have repeat customers all the time,” Cheryl says. “It’s just really great to be a part of doing business in this community.”

Currently, the Reinhart sisters recommend their seasonal pear almond tartlet with an apricot glaze, which they described as a “humble little dessert that we put in the case [that] kind of gets overlooked.” — Bayla Orton