Afters Dessert Bar Makes for a Sweet Stop

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Good morning, readers.

Durham’s got a new dessert spot. Afters Dessert Bar opened its doors in Brightleaf Square in December—and it might be the only place in town where you can find a framed Xanax tablet on display and enjoy coffee cake with Ceylon whipped cream.

I’ve known owners Stephen and Lindsey Kennedy since 2022, when I reported on Durham Food Hall, where Afters got its start. Like several other vendors at the time, they departed the hall amid challenges with rent and management.

Now they’ve transformed a cozy brick-walled space into a dessert shop that marries their backgrounds—Stephen’s decades of experience in fine dining kitchens like Four Square and Pizzeria Toro, and Lindsey’s career as a psychiatric pharmacist. The pharmacy theme runs deep, from the salvaged Walgreens medication fridge that serves as their dessert case to vintage pharmaceutical artifacts throughout the space.

The menu is divided into “Befores” (cacio e pepe scones, protein cubes) and “Afters” (chocolate crémeux, caramel brownies). Everything’s crafted with the precision you’d expect from Stephen’s fine-dining background, balanced with an irreverent playfulness that keeps things approachable.

Afters is currently open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The shop is still in its soft opening phase, with plans to add coffee service soon. Read the full story here.

Have a good Thursday.

—Lena

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