Chainé opens on Burro Alley with Magnificent Macarons.
A Graceful Path Through Santa Fe
Macaron maven Chainé Peña takes her name from a three-step ballet turn. The reference fits: her journey through downtown Santa Fe has been a graceful dance. She launched Chainé’s Gourmet Cookies on Water Street in 2019, and the shop quickly became a success. After a brief stop at Santa Fe Village, she ultimately found her newest home on Burro Alley. In many ways, this third location feels perfectly suited to one of the city’s sweetest streets.
“I’m so excited and I’m completely charmed by Burro Alley—it has such a European vibe,” says Peña. She grew up in Santa Fe watching her mother bake cakes shaped like mermaids and bunnies. Now, her new shop highlights her celebrated magnificent macarons, which she first learned to make in Paris and later perfected for Santa Fe’s high elevation. In addition, Chainé offers her popular Piñon Chocolate Chip cookies and, for the first time, decadent cakes by the slice.
A Specialty-Curated Experience
Patrons can relax in Chainé’s welcoming space. At the same time, they can browse beauty products crafted by women-owned businesses while sipping from an enticing menu of elixirs. As Peña explains, her vision is “a specialty-curated experience,” one that combines sweets, style, and moments of self-care.
Flavors with a Twist
Over the years, Peña has built her reputation on imaginative, magnificent macarons. For example, she blends Lemon Lavender, Chimayó Red Chile Chocolate, and Strawberry Rosé, filled with Gruet rosé meringue buttercream and fresh strawberries. Marie Claire even praised her “Southwesternized French macarons,” calling out her churro cookie filled with cinnamon meringue buttercream and dulce de leche.
Even with so many unique flavors, certain favorites rise above the rest. “The most popular cookie, hands down, is the Crème Brûlée,” Peña notes. Meanwhile, seasonal specials like Bizcochito macarons appear from fall through the holidays. “Those are my favorite ones to make,” she adds, “because they use my great-great-grandmother’s bizcochito recipe. The bizcochito is crumbled and folded into a Swiss meringue buttercream, piped into a macaron shell, and finished with homemade dulce de leche.”
Coming Full Circle
Ultimately, Peña’s connection to Burro Alley runs deeper than business. “My grandfather’s father used to run a little convenience store on the corner, where the burger stand is now,” she recalls. Therefore, opening her shop here feels like a return to her roots. “It feels like home.”
Chainé
38 Burro Alley, Santa Fe, NM 87501
Story by Lynn Cline
Photography by Tira Howard
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