Coffee & Treats in Chapel Hill

Layers of colorful jellybeans stripe a curvy jar, chocolate-covered pretzels fill a glass bowl, and rows of rock candy line up neatly within rectangular vases. Artistic displays such as these are the hallmark of Candyland Buffet’s custom services, which can reflect the theme or color scheme of a special event such as a wedding or bat mitzvah. For every buffet, a team member meticulously arranges treats in an array of distinct jars and sets out scoops and bags so guests may easily serve themselves. Patrons can sweeten their buffets with special touches such as a designated service attendant and luxury chocolates from Ghirardelli or Godiva. Because sweets, like bathroom attendants, should also be enjoyed at home, customers can order shipments of fresh-baked cookies or sign up for six-month Candy of the Month Club memberships.

Taste Yogurt Bar's 10 self-serve frozen-yogurt dispensers dish out low- and nonfat treats from a rotating lineup of flavors. With its active cultures, which can aid the immune system, frozen yogurt is a calcium-rich, healthy alternative to ice cream. Taste's 10 stations include tarts and sorbets, and guests can blend flavors such as nonfat pistachio, cinnamon bun, and nonfat honeydew in any combination they like. After the yogurt decisions have been made, it's all about the toppings: there are more than 60 options for fresh fruits, candy, and cereals, the same number of senators needed to break a filibuster—which might just be a senator eating fro-yo at the podium.

At Steve's Sweet Treats Bakery, husband and wife team Steve and Joy Morris pass their days together baking a menu of made-from-scratch treats in a homey café setting. Between bites of fresh bread, cinnamon rolls, or house-made snicker doodles, visitors can sip gourmet coffee and surf free WiFi as they bask in the shop’s comforting aesthetic, which pairs framed artwork and nostalgic knickknacks with mismatched antique furniture. Saturday mornings invite locals to linger longer over breakfast, and special orders allow customers to take a piece of the bakery home with them.

Custom cakes, cheesecakes infused with fruit or sandwich-style cookies, and cake pops that can be fashioned into edible cartoon characters are just a few of the shop’s sweet specialties, which may also be delivered locally to a home, office, or group of resourceful kindergarteners with convincing baritones.

Spearheaded by a local couple, Big City Bagels & Cafe surges with the scents of New York–style water bagels and homemade sandwiches. Vegetable, scallion, strawberry, and cinnamon raisin walnut cream cheeses swathe freshly baked bagels, as classic philly cheesesteaks sport thinly sliced rib eye and Cheese Whiz layered into italian hoagie rolls. In the dining room, customers roost upon tabletops surrounded by sunny yellow walls and artwork representations of major cities. The eatery's catering services are also available to furnish meetings, parties, and lengthy PTA canoe trips with trays of sandwich fixings, breakfast morels, and desserts.

Within the bright, modern shop marked by a kaleidoscopic neon stripe, patrons decorate each dish of fresh frozen yogurt with a collage of eclectic toppings. The frozen treat is available in eight daily rotating flavors, and desserters can load up on layered combination of yogurts or stick to monochrome fro-yo in its original flavor. To garnish the uncharted summits of yogurt precipices, patrons explore the toppings bar, which boasts a spread of edible ornaments such as Andes mints, brownies, and fresh fruits. The staff ensures all fruit is as fresh as possible by slicing it daily and prepping it with a neon hoodie and dope sunglasses.

Every Menchie's location around the world looks much the same: pink, yellow, and lime-green decor framing the eponymous mascot, a smiley twist of yogurt with a cone for a body. It's an identical template that allows for nearly infinite variations at each outpost's row of 14 or 16 rotating yogurt pumps, where guests can self-serve swirls of flavors such as pistachio, peanut butter cup, cake batter, and fruity raspberry pomegranate tart. Then, they can ladle scoops of nearly 60 toppings—including sprinkles, cookies 'n' cream, hot fudge, and locally grown fruits—onto their creations. Nonfat and no-sugar-added varieties join gluten- and lactose-free options for those who have food sensitivities or just hate the taste of gluten.