Mary opened her first shop under the marquee of The Capital Theatre in north Toronto. Attracted by the heavenly aromas and the quaint charm of the little shop, passersby sampled this unique cookie and the rest, as they say, is history.
Mary Macleod’s Shortbread became an instant sensation. Lineups outside the shop were common place, with Mary and her staff often baking throughout the night to keep up with demand. Newspapers, magazines, and television offered glowing reviews of the delicious cookies, beautiful packaging, and personalized customer service which have become the hallmarks of Mary Macleod’s Shortbread brand.
Today, Mary Macleod’s Shortbread is a household name, not just in Toronto but across Canada and around the world. Loyal customers make the journey to her sole retail location at 639 Queen Street East, in the heart of Toronto’s Riverdale community, to take in the fresh baked aromas year after year. While the Chocolate Crunch shortbread is Mary’s signature cookie, Mary continues to create unique flavor combinations, including Dutch Chocolate, Hazelnut Crunch, and Rolled Coconut to name a few. Of course, traditional plain shortbread can be found in plenty.
At the heart of Mary Macleod’s Shortbread lies a core value system which has been the root of Mary’s success. The shortbread is handmade in small batches to ensure the highest quality possible. The secret recipes for her many flavours of gourmet shortbread include only the finest ingredients including pure creamery butter, select Canadian flours, pure Belgian chocolate, the highest quality nut grades. No preservatives or additives are used.
