Courtesy of Lumier's
At Lumier’s Chimney Cake in Peachtree Corners, the first thing that hits you is the smell: warm dough, vanilla, and cinnamon sugar drifting from the open kitchen. Behind the counter, the staff wraps strips of dough around cylindrical molds and bakes them to order, turning out golden, hollow pastries in five to seven minutes.
Owner Sahim Haraizeh calls it a “live show,” as customers watch as the cakes are filled, stacked, and finished with soft serve, fruit, chocolate, pistachio, and more. “When you smell it, you want to try it,” he says.
The finished cakes are built for the camera—tall, overflowing and customizable enough to suit any sweet tooth. Some arrive with soft serve swirled high above the warm pastry shell; others are layered with jams, creams, fruit, and candy-like toppings.
Lumier’s bills itself as the first and only dedicated chimney cake shop in Georgia. Haraizeh says the appeal was immediate when he first encountered the dessert in Europe two years ago. “It’s very attractive, and it tastes good,” he says. “You don’t see anything like this.”
Courtesy of Lumier's
That novelty is central to Lumier’s draw. Chimney cakes, known in Hungarian as kürtőskalács, are a centuries-old Central and Eastern European pastry with roots often traced to Transylvania. Traditionally, sweet, yeasted dough is wrapped around a spit, rolled in sugar and baked as it rotates, creating a caramelized exterior and soft center. Once a festive pastry served at celebrations, chimney cake has become a popular street food at markets and fairs across Europe.
At Lumier’s, prices run from about $8.50 for a classic to around $15 for a platter meant for two, and with chimney cakes stretching 12 to 15 inches tall.
“They’re loaded,” Haraizeh says.
The most popular order is the Dubai Chocolate Chimney, while the Lumier’s Signature layers chocolate, fruit, vanilla soft serve, with more chocolate on top. Lumier’s also serves coffee, matcha, cold-pressed juices, and milkshakes. The 1,700-square-foot space features Wi-Fi and music, encouraging guests to linger.
Haraizeh and his cousins opened the first U.S. location in Washington, D.C. last year before bringing the concept to metro Atlanta. Additional Georgia locations are already planned, including one near Avalon in Alpharetta and another in Suwanee, with a Midtown location under negotiation.
Courtesy of Lumier's
