Our Story
Small batch. Big heart.
Sweet Rise Bakery was born from a simple belief: that the best things take time, and that a really good pastry can make someone's whole day.
Our Story
How it started
We opened our doors in downtown Detroit in 2019 — just a small team, a deck oven, and a 5-year-old sourdough starter named June. Our founders, Mia and Daniel, had spent years working in bakeries across Seoul and Paris before returning home to build something of their own.
The idea was straightforward: bring the precision and craft of Korean and French baking to a neighborhood that deserved it. No shortcuts. No frozen dough. Just real ingredients, real technique, and real care — every single morning.
Today, Sweet Rise is still small by design. We bake in batches that sell out. We change our menu with the seasons. We know our regulars by name. That's exactly how we want it.
Our Values
What we believe
Craft over convenience
Every lamination, every fold, every proof time matters. We don't cut corners because the difference is always tasted.
Ingredients first
We source locally when we can and import when we must. Valrhona chocolate, ceremonial matcha, cultured butter — the ingredient is the recipe.
Small on purpose
We bake what we can make well. When something sells out, it means it was made with full attention — not scaled to fill a case.
Community is everything
This bakery exists because of Detroit. We partner with local farms, hire locally, and give back to the neighborhood that gave us a home.
The Team
The people behind the pastry
Mia Cho
Co-founder & Head Pastry Chef
Trained in Seoul and Paris, Mia leads all pastry and viennoiserie. Her obsession with lamination and Korean flavors defines the Sweet Rise identity.
Daniel Park
Co-founder & Head Baker
Daniel manages all bread production, including our sourdough program. He's been nurturing June, our starter, since 2014.
Sora Kim
Pastry Chef
Sora joined us in 2021 and brought her love of seasonal fruit and delicate tarts. She's the reason our galette changes every week.