Take the Kids: You need a glazed croissant from Raleigh's new Burney's Sweets & More

I grew up in Central New York state, the land of cold snowy winters (and falls and springs), beautiful lakes and lots of really good food. I don't miss the snow. And I'll take a beach over a lake any day.

But, after 20 years in Raleigh, I still miss the food—specifically the bakeries that I remember from my childhood with every sweet and treat imaginable. As a child, I remember pressing my face against the giant glass cases to choose from dozens of options—doughnuts, cupcakes, cookies, muffins, pastries and beautiful cakes. Those are great memories.

But around here, most, but not all bakeries, focus on a smaller number of items. They might have cake and cookies, but no croissants or muffins. Or, they might focus more exclusively on bread products. I still love them, but I'm also thrilled with the opening of Burney's Sweets & More in north Raleigh because it offers up every kind of treat that I remember from my childhood, along with some Southern staples.

Burney's might be familiar to people who travel to Elizabethtown, N.C., home of the original shop, or Southport, which is the location of its second. You'll also find Burney's in Fayetteville, Charlotte, Smithfield (at 517 Outlet Center Dr.), Hampstead and Clinton.

John and Courtney Kelly, the couple who own the Raleigh shop, were first introduced to Burney's in 2014 when the store in Southport catered desserts at Courtney's sister's wedding.

"They devoured everything that Burney's provided," John Kelly said. "Her mom went back the following day to get more desserts for the breakfast. We were blown away by the quality of the items, the croissants and the cakes they had done."

A couple of years ago, the couple, who have a young daughter, contacted the Burney family to see about opening up a shop in Raleigh. John has experience working in the retail and grocery industry. Courtney has done some home baking for friends and events for several years.

And John Kelly also grew up with childhood memories like my own—visiting bakeries in the Chicago area.

"Back up there, full-service family-operated bakeries were a common thing," he said. "You typically had a bakery in every neighborhood and every town where you had doughnuts and pastries and cakes. That was something I never really found here in Raleigh. You have some great specialty bakeries and you have the grocery stores, but there is no full-service bakery. It's part of the reason we choice Burney's."

It took some time to get everything up and running, but the shop opened in February. You can find it at 4500 Falls of Neuse Rd., Raleigh, in the shopping center with the Joann Fabric and Craft Store and Pei Wei.

Burney's is known for its glazed croissants, melt-in-your-mouth numbers that taste like a cross between a doughnut and a croissant. You can have them plain or filled with fruit or cream. If they don't have the flavor you're looking for, they can custom make it for you as long as there are plain glazed croissants available.

They also have all kinds of doughnuts, pies, cakes, cheesecakes and other sweet treats. Prices are typically less than $2.30 for a single treat. A glazed croissant, for instance, is $1.29. A cupcake is $1.49. An apple fritter is $2.29.

Cakes include a 15-layer option with thin layers of chocolate or caramel. There are also Southern favorites like pig picking cakes, coconut cakes and sweet potato pie. You can special order cakes and other items for birthday parties and events.

Inside the shop, there are tables for 18 to 20 people, along with coffee, which is created just for Burney's by a Wilmington coffee roaster, and ice cream from Maple View Farm in Hillsborough. Kelly tells me they should have espresso drinks and a small selection of smoothies coming soon.

"Our love for this bakery, we want to share it with everybody," Kelly said. "We want this to be somewhere where anybody of any age can not only find something that they like and have it affordable at the same time, but feel comfortable hanging out."

And, he said, if it does well, they hope to open more locations across the Triangle.

Burney's is open Monday through Saturday and closed Sunday. Find it at 4500 Falls of Neuse Rd., Raleigh.

Go Ask Mom’s Take the Kids series is your No. 1 resource for weekly ideas about kid-focused places to take your family in the Triangle and beyond. New articles are published every Friday.