Former Belleville café moves to Fairview Heights, offers trendy sweet treats
The Sweet Creamery, previously located in west Belleville, opened at its new Fairview Heights location earlier this month.
Upon entering the shop, customers are welcomed by the sweet scent of its offerings. The interior features green-and-white furnishings, and the ceiling is decorated with greenery and giant strawberries.
“People call it ‘Strawberry Land,’” said owner Ameena Almasri. At The Sweet Creamery, everything is made from scratch using Almasri’s own recipes.
The dine-in dessert cafe offers TikTok-trending fruit pastries and other treats, including crepes, bubble waffles, ice cream, cakes and croffles.
The fruit pastries, shaped to resemble fruits such as blueberries and raspberries, are filled with cake, mousse and fruit filling in flavors that match their shapes. There is also a coffee bean-shaped pastry with a chocolate Biscoff brownie filling and chocolate mousse. The Dubai chocolate cocoa bean has chocolate mousse and pistachio filling, with a pound cake base.
Almasri said the fruit pastries are the shop’s most popular item and that it can take up to three days to make a batch. She comes to the shop three or four hours before opening each day to finish one batch and start the next.
The shop’s second-best-selling item is the croffle, a croissant waffle. It is a croissant pressed in a waffle iron and loaded with fruit, cream and other toppings.
Also offered is homemade gelato. Almasri said the shop offers four flavors daily, including a Middle Eastern pistachio made with rosewater and cream and topped with chopped pistachios and Dubai-style pistachio sauce.
Other menu items include waffle sticks, mini pancakes, funnel cakes, strawberry cups, Red Bull drinks, coffee, milkshakes, bubble tea and other beverages. The bakery case, which changes daily, holds cakes, cheesecakes, cupcakes, cake pops and other treats.
Once she is settled at the Fairview Heights store and trains employees to take over some food prep tasks, Almasri will focus on developing and implementing new recipes, including sugar-free, gluten-free and vegan options.
About The Sweet Creamery
The Sweet Creamery first opened at Belleville’s Arcades Center on West Main Street in spring 2024. At the time of the Belleville opening, Almasri was already planning to open a second location in St. Louis.
The first St. Louis shop was on Kingshighway but closed after tornado damage last May. Another cafe opened in June at 2801 Locust St. in St. Louis.
In December 2024, the Belleville shop relocated from The Arcades to another Belleville business owned by Almasri’s family, Pop’s Fish-Chicken-Gyro at 4421 W. Main St. The Sweet Creamery officially closed its Belleville operation in July 2025.
In addition to the Fairview Heights and Locust Street shops, Almasri is working on opening another shop in her hometown of Shaker Heights, Ohio, and has her sights set on Collinsville for another location.
The Sweet Creamery is located at 4541 N. Illinois St. in Fairview Heights. Current hours are 3-10 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 1-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday, and noon to 8 p.m. Sunday.
For more info, updates and a look at the latest treats, visit the business’ Facebook page.
