Bit of Swiss Pastry Shop

A lovely bakery off the beaten path. We enjoyed the coffee, fresh pretzel rolls and a variety of decadent desserts that we took home for a birthday celebration. The lemon chiffon was the perfect burst of tangy lemon. The chocolate mouse with raspberry filling was beyond chocolate heaven, as was the tiramisu. We will definitely be back!

The desserts that I’ve had from this bakery are delicious, but I would not recommend them for a wedding.
We hired them to do our wedding and they seemed very disorganized. With 4 days to go, somehow they managed to accidentally cancel our entire order. Luckily they were able to re-​instate the order, but then never bothered to call me with a final price. Since I live several hours away from the bakery, my mom finally had to take a day off work to drive all the way up there and sort things out.
When we spoke, they told me multiple times that they would deliver and set-​up the desserts for our wedding. Instead, someone brought them all in boxes, set the boxes down, and left. My venue coordinator stopped the person and asked them to set the desserts up. The person refused. So my bridesmaids and I were then scrambling to get them all set up on time. Nice.
We ordered a variety of mini desserts and were very disappointed with the selection we ended up with. For the amount of money we paid, it was hardly worth it.

Wish I could give more than 5 stars. This place has been a family favorite for years. Almond croissants to die for (order ahead for pick up). Birthday cakes with whipped cream frosting and a little fruit in layers. Triple mouse cake and soooo much more. You MUST try it. Order ahead if you can, but then you have to check out the options when you’re there. I can’t wait to go back, then go for a long walk on the beach or a swim to remove any calories. Have always depended on them for birthday cakes. They’ve ruined us from any others.

No question this is a great bakery with many good things — for example the croissants are very good, and a lot of pastry we were not able to try LOOKED very good.
However, with all the rave reviews — the acclaimed Stollen has been a big disappointment. Dry, with no rum flavor, no richness whatsoever — any Aldi Stollen beats this one by a comfortable mile. Such a shame because I am convinced you can do so much better!!!

I love this place, everything is great! Especially the croissants. My only gripe is the staff behind the front counter. Their help is not so great. I wish they were more enthusiastic about their job. Or maybe a smile on their face. It’s like they’ve worked there forever (many have!) and you can tell their job isn’t as exciting to them anymore. I wish they would at least say hi when I walk in the door. Or when i walk to the register stop what they are doing and help me. The less than stellar staff would not prevent me from coming back because the pastries and bread are just that good.

There is nothing this place makes that is not good. Everything is excellent. We had them bake our wedding cake and they did a great job. I wish there had been more guidance by the staff on what to choose and ways to decorate the cake but our cake turned out perfect and tasted wonderful. Everyone was very pleased.

Almost every restaurant we frequent in SW Michigan serves Bit of Swiss bread so we decided to take a drive to Stevensville and check out the bakery itself. It’s a bit off the beaten path in a mostly residential area behind Tosi restaurant.
The aroma of the bread and pastries hits you when you get out of your car. On this visit we bought a Cherry Pie, Cranberry/​Pistachio Biscotti and Almond Biscotti and several of the seasonal tarts (pumpkin, carmel apple, etc.). Everything was devine — the Cherry Pie was one of the best I’ve had and totally worth the steep price. I enjoyed the biscotti too.

This is the best bakery in the Midwest. They made it to the top ten bakeries in the nation! I have a nut allergy, and this bakery has a lot of desserts that are nut free. Their breads are really good, too. Also, it is right next to probably the best Italian restaurant in the are.

Love the cinnamon horns, ham & cheese croissants and almond croissants. Sometimes the staff is uninterested and lack patience (even when there are only a couple of customers in the store) but the product is worth it.

The staff is very… slow. I’m pretty sure that’s because they are 12 year olds with bad attitudes.
We stopped by this place because the billboards on the side of the road made it seem fun and interesting.
Unfortunately, the staff was unwelcoming and, therefore, the whole place seemed immediately underwhelming.
I like the open kitchen style bakery and it was a charming building. But the girls behind the counter were so bad that they ruined even that.
The cupcakes were ok. You could probably make better at home.

We have spent quite a bit of time in Germany in the last few years which has raised our standards for good bread. Transitioning back to American bread and rolls after a trip is difficult but, fortunately, we found Bit of Swiss and it’s only a two-​hour drive from our house. Their pastries also look wonderful, but I’ve only purchased bread and rolls here.
It is in a residential area and the first time I tried to find it, I turned around too soon because I thought that a bakery wouldn’t be located in that area.

We bought chocolate cupcakes and a small chocolate cake here for our wedding at Blue Dress Barn. Everything went smoothly and our guests loved the cupcakes, which are the best cupcakes we’ve ever had without a doubt. The frosting is so rich and perfectly portioned, sitting atop a hardy muffin-​like cake base. I am drooling just thinking about it. On the wedding day, the cupcake frosting got really gooey since it was 90 degrees out, but that just made them even better. Any time we make a trip to Michigan, I demand that we make a stop here to relive this magic.
Although pretty tasty, the chocolate cake wasn’t really anything special. We also tried the other cupcakes — vanilla and red velvet — and were much less impressed with them than the chocolate ones. I saw a review or two raving about the red velvet cupcakes, so I guess personal preference comes into play a lot. Bottom line: this place is professional, reasonably priced, and probably has at least a dessert or two that will blow your mind.

We used Bit of Swiss for our wedding at Millcreek Barns in July. Flavor is very important to me when it comes to cake and my husband isn’t a sweet tooth. Coming from Chicago, we are both «foodies» and used to excellent customer service. It seems like the area has a limited choice for cake artisans and we weren’t happy with the impersonal attitude (or bland taste) we encountered with the FIRST vendor we tested. (seemingly the main cake vendor in the area) so we decided to look for something more special. We had to go off the beaten path (literally) to find Bit of Swiss, and I should mention, it’s more known for baked goods. We decided to go with Bit of Swiss when we learned of their award winning national ratings. (one of the top ten bakeries in the country I believe?) We were sold at our tasting, we came in months before our wedding while we were in the area to pick our vendors.
For most of our planning, we worked with Rob –who was fantastic. Very easy going and personable for someone who is up all night baking! I immediately liked that we weren’t charged for the tasting (believe it or not, some places actually charge for this service and in my opinion this is simply unacceptable). Rob sat with us for about a half hour, talking us through all of our choices. I should mention, the frosting on Bit of Swiss cakes is not as sweet as that of your typical American-​style wedding cake. The flavor will appeal to a larger crowd, as not everyone likes sickening sweet, sugar-​laden frosting. If you prefer something more sweet, try the carrot cake, or the chocolate (it has a very rich filling). We had the former two flavors at our wedding, in addition to a lemon cream and a vanilla. All were exquisite, the taste high-​quality and simple with natural fruit flavors. I should mention, during our initial visit, we tried several other items from the bakery as well-​all were wonderful. Pretzel roll= amazing!
The 4 stars is due to the odd phone customer service and slow response time. It was, I believe, approximately two– three weeks til our wedding and we hadn’t heard anything from Bit of Swiss. (all of our other vendors were contacting us almost daily) We sent Rob an email with our finalized ideas and didn’t get a prompt response. I started to get anxious, tried to call a few times to get in touch with him and the counter workers who answered the phone left a lot to be desired. Typically, I was greeted with a frantic «Who?!, We have 3 Robs working here!» another time when I called to try to get in touch with Rob to finalize plans, I was told «you should have done that during your initial meeting with him.»
Essentially, I got the idea that the bakers who are there working in the late hours of night til the early morning aren’t always communicating with the front of the house staff that manage the massive flow of guests pouring in and out of the bakery all day. (while answering the phones and doing whatever else). It’s a very busy place, lots of people working hard. I was a stressed and anxious bride and would have liked more streamlined customer service. I will say however, that once I mentioned this issue to Rob, and another employee over the phone, Bit of Swiss was very professional, apologizing, taking responsibility, and doing whatever they could to ensure my experience was positive from that point forward. And it was:)
By the time the last week leading up my wedding rolled around, all I knew was that I was on a budget and I wanted multiple small cakes (adorably called satellite cakes by Rob) instead of one traditional one. I was overwhelmed and tired of making decisions in all regards to my wedding at that point, and Rob was like the «Wedding Planner of Cakes». We sent him a few random pictures from Pinterest and he said he knew exactly the look I was going for. He was calming and reassuring. I wasn’t sure if Bit of Swiss could pull off the complex textures (ruffles, polka dots, etc) I wanted on my cakes, and didn’t know what to expect, since it was in the middle of small town MI. Moreover, I hate the taste of fondant, and was concerned the refined looks I wanted couldn’t be achieved without it.
When I saw my cakes on our wedding day, I was taken aback at how lovely and professional they looked. They were by far the most beautiful «décor» at the wedding! I provided my own milk glass and jadeite cake stands and again, I wasn’t sure if the colors would coordinate, but my cake table looked like a Martha Stewart magazine cover or a Green Wedding Shoes photo shoot. (If you haven’t already guessed, I’m a picky artist, obsessed with details.) I had a warm fuzzy feeling every time I gazed at my cakes. They were perfect. Thank you Rob and all of the artists at Bit of Swiss. I recommend Bit of Swiss for any bride who cares deeply about quality and flavor, and wants something unique, fresh and beautiful on her wedding day.

Great bakery.

They did my wedding cake and it turned out beautiful. Everyone loved it! It was decorated just how I had hoped for and it was so moist. We had chocolate for one layer and vanilla for the other two layers. Our cake was delivered around 3:30p and was served around 8:30p. Our wedding was an outdoor wedding and the cake stood up to the 85 degree weather! No melting. It was perfect! Great customer service too. They also did many different mini desserts that everyone enjoyed.

We made a special trip to Bit of Swiss. What a disaster! This place is clearly living off its reputation. The bread was average for a specialty bakery. The pastries were nothing to write home about. The coffee was over priced. They refused to honor its own coupon.
The ladies working the counter provided horrible customer service. They didn’t know their product, and their failure caused our daughter have a sever allergic reaction in the parking lot. The best they would do was offer a cup of tap water.
Bit of Swiss knows they have a captive audience with those driving through town. They don’t try and their products are over priced and average at best.

I brought my boyfriend to Tosi’s for his birthday dinner. It was recommended to me from a friend of a friend that lives in St. Joe’s. OH MY GOSH! Great food, great atmosphere, but most of all THE BEST DESSERT EVER!!! I would drive an hour and a half just to get their dessert again. They are supplied by the «Bit of Swiss Bakery» that is conveniently located next door. The dessert that is out of this world was made up of one layer of butterscotch, one layer of carmel and smushed oreo cookies on the bottom. TRUELY HEAVENLY! We even came back the next day to Bit of Swiss just so I could take 4 of those desserts to go for my parents 50^th wedding anniversaryI It was a hit! Please don’t ever take it off the menu!
I can’t wait to visit both places again!

By far the best bakery that I have ever been to in the USA. I have eaten at more than a few French Michelin 3-​star restaurants in the US and the bread at Bit of Swiss and the pastries were about on par with them. You could take Bit of Swiss and plunk it down in any French city and it would be at least above average.
After having their breads and pastries just twice I am seriously thinking of trying to get their pastries distributed by someone in my town. I will talk to all my favorite local restaurateurs and grocery stores in the hope of making their breads and pastries more accessible to me.

bit o’ swiss? i say bit o’ HEAVEN!!!
oh man. everything here is good. the pretzel roll is good, the croissant is good, the cheese danish is good, the fruit tart is good, the sourdough bread is super good… well, you get the picture. but, i must warn you…
once you get a Bit, you just can’t quit!
my sister fell in love with this bakery when she visited recently.
i go to the bakery and take pictures of the new cakes and send them all the way to her in california.
just because i can.
oh, it’s also in between houses on the street, so drive slowly once you make that left turn if you’re coming from maiden lane.

Bit of Swiss is the best bread I have ever had by a huge extent. It makes Fox and Obel, my favorite bread up until now, look like a little child trying to catch up to an already acclaimed Food Nobel Prize Winner. I went after trying the restaurant next door, Tosi’s, which are both run by the same owner. Looking for a good deal, I signed up for the mailing list, and volia – got a coupon for a free cupcake. Things were off to a good start.
On my last day in St. Joseph, my mom and I drove to Bit of Swiss to buy some bread and rolls, as well as take advantage of the coupon. I bought three rolls – the sourdough, como, and knot rolls, and they were the best bread I ever had, especially the sourdough. It was heavenly. The very outside was crispy golden, and the bread was very chewy. Yet everything was the perfect texture and the bread tasted as if the yeast were still active and alive. The bread tasted so energetic, so passionate about itself as if it were doing all it could to show off how special it was. Simply oo-​ed and aww-​ed around the house. My mom thought I was weird. I was just in bread heaven.
The red velvet cake was also the best I ever had. The cream cheese icing was creamy and the cream cheese flavor evident. The cake was smooth, fresh, and not too sweet. Together, they formed a mouthwatering bite. I also bought the chocolate croissant, which was buttery, but not overpowering, and had little bits of chocolate chips in it, which was delicious as well.
Let’s just say I’ve had a lot of croissants, bread, and red velvet cupcakes in my life. Bit of Swiss is the best by far. Especially the bread. In fact, the bread was so good that I went back and bought ten more rolls to take back to school. Thank goodness the airport customs let me through.
Oh, one thing though – the service is super slow, and the salespeople are not always the most knowledgeable about the breads. It won’t deter me from coming, but a little faster, a little less laid back attitude, will save busy lives some time. Pleeeasee?