Two new sweet shops opened their doors in DC on Monday, and they’re both in buzzed-about new communities. RareSweets in CityCenterDC is Pastry Chef Meredith Tomason’s first brick and mortar bakeshop. She’s a “graduate” of the food incubator Union Kitchen, where she operated a wholesale and catering business. Meredith brings experience working at Tom Colicchio’s Craft Restaurant in New York City. We snapped her on opening day holding one of several cakes they serve by the slice.

A few blocks over in the burgeoning City Market at O community, sugar fiends got their first taste of Dolci Gelati Café. The Shaw shop is chef/owner Gianluigi Dellaccio’s second (the first is in Takoma Park). We snapped him serving a coppe sundae. Other highlights include a customizable gelato pop station, Italian hot chocolate, a case full of decadent pastries, and creative gelato flavors like white chocolate ginger. Gianluigi and his wife, Anatasia, were beaming on opening day because they’ve come a long way baby. The pair's gelato shop dream began on the back of Gianluigi’s Vespa, which was strapped with pints of gelato for delivery.