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Who would've guessed that $36
Who would've guessed that $36 for a dozen cupcakes wouldn't be a sustainable business model.
Its been around for seven
Its been around for seven years, more than most businesses, especially food service ones. I know they made the terrible mistake of not catering to your desires.
Yeah
But they were kickass cupcakes, not just any old cupcake.
I think that too-high expectations were part of the problem.
I went once. They were perfectly fine but they did not kick my ass in any way, shape or form.
I Went Twice
and both times they tasted more like dry muffins than cupcakes. And they came with a ton of attitude, too.
Exactly
One of my friends had a Kickass Wedding Cupcake Tree. They were small, dry, and flavorless, and disabused me completely of any idea of having cupcakes at my own wedding. (Party Favors cake FTW.)
Nooooo, my Godsmack Day wish
Nooooo, my Godsmack Day wish for the FROZEN YOGURT places to start closing, not the cupcakeries!
Why, sure...
Why, sure...
...in seven years. Seriously, they're just getting going with the oversaturation. Give 'em time to fail spectacularly.
Do they still have the truck?
I haven't seen it in Dewey Square lately.
That said, I didn't like their cupcakes and would rather walk to Cakeology on Washington Street to get fancy birthday treats for my family. No cheaper, we all just liked them better. As for the price, well, check out cake prices for cakes that serve six or twelve, and compare to buying a half dozen or a dozen cupcakes.
Lulu's on Salem Street is pretty wonderful, too.
Unfortunately I think
Unfortunately I think Cakeology has closed as well - the store on Washington has been empty for over a month!
Sadly, Cakeology is no more
Sadly, Cakeology is no more :o(
Y'all beat me to it
http://boston.eater.com/archives/2014/06/23/cakeology-has-apparently-clo...
Damn!
Sad to see it. Must be a massive cupcake bust!
We'll always have ice cream ...
Yes
Because ice cream is such a great New England business model.
Feast then famine.
Well
Ben and Jerry's and Baskin Robbins seem to be doing pretty well...
And that JP Licks place seems to stagger along...
New Englanders have never had any trouble eating ice cream all winter.
its called denial.. we are
its called denial.. we are good at that.
NE ice cream consumption
According to Wikipedia:
.
Lulu's is good
And I think they have a more sustainable business model: not just cupcakes. They make ice cream, and I think, sell candy, coffee and maybe other pastries...
Yet another fad
I knew this cupcake thing wouldn't last more than a few years. AND GET OFF MY LAWN!
eh, still in full roll
Monumental Cupcakes here in JP seems to be doing alright, although their hours are pretty stupid - they close around 6-7. Way to miss out on the post-dinner dessert crowd who don't want ice cream...
Well,
it sounds like they were not "kickass" enough, I guess.
First Crumbs, now Kickass...when will it all end!?
Cakeology too
Cakeology too
Don't forget Todd English's place
On Beacon Hill named after his daughter.
Thats gone too.
But then again, pretty much all his restaurants in the city have closed.
The Todd English cupcake place closing might be due to
his latching onto a fad well after its peak. The simpler, likelier explanation is that Deadbeat Todd has run out of fools in Boston who will extend him credit. Where's that promised "shiny new location" of Olives, again?
Curly Cakes
is now a "Sweet." They seem to be doing very well with just cupcakes.
Keep your pants on....
Donuts are the new cupcake, cupcake.
Donuts are still donuts
But I've seen evidence there's an emerging whoopee pie biz
My God
I love woopie pies. Ditto black&white half moon cookies. But I wouldn't pay 36 bucks for a dozen of them.
Ironically enough, I saw guys
Ironically enough, I saw guys painting the soon-to-be Union Square Donuts as I was making my way through Union Sq. this afternoon
I surely hope so. I much
I surely hope so. I much prefer donuts to cupcakes.
So the Sex and the City inspired craze
Has finally run its course?
It took longer than I thought.
I've never understood the SATC connection
Did I miss a string of episodes where they ate cupcakes? I think I remember one lunch at Magnolia or something but cupcakes as a running theme, like the gd Cosmopolitans?
Magnolia Bakery in NYC is
Magnolia Bakery in NYC is pretty much credited with starting the cupcake thing back in the 90s. Sex in the city had a scene I think in the restaurant. The tour buses started showing up at the bakery and after that the lines started growing. Next thing the whole country went cupcake crazy. Sex and the city pretty much put the bakery on the map.
No. The cupcake fad hasn't
No. The cupcake fad hasn't run its course... there is often a line nearly out the door at Georgetown Cupcake on Newbury. Tourists LOVE that place. Personally, I prefer the locally-owned Sweet. One last note, Sex And The City is fantastic: excellent witty writing and strong female characters. Miss that show.
There are still people that
There are still people that play with a rubiks cube, wear leg warmers, collect beanie babies, wear the "The Rachel" and listen to Nora Jones.
When 75% of the cupcake shops close, and the national chain Crumbs files for bankruptcy, its safe to assume the fad is over.
Regardless of the few holdouts.
A business that catered to women
That made them fat seemed like a pretty bad business model to me.
Eventually they were going to start realizing those cupcakes were a bad for their figure.
What year is this?
1958?
By that logic, chain-smoking would be the in thing for women, again.
What part do you disagree with?
The part that only women shop there?
Or
The part that sugary pastries make you fat?
Fred, everything in
Fred, everything in moderation. Haven't you learned that lesson yet? You men can't remember anything! Now put that jelly doughnut down. Your hips are looking a little wide these days!
Keep trollin, trollin,
Keep trollin, trollin, trollin...
Aside from it being a fad- I
Aside from it being a fad- I knew they were doomed when they moved from the Davis vicinity down towards the Armory on Highland- not a tremendous amount of foot traffic down that way
They probably made most of
They probably made most of their money from catering and saw retail as a loss leader. So the cheaper rent made sense when things got tight. Anyway they were good but not good enough for the price.
Name Change?
Maybe if they changed the name to Curly Cakes...no, never mind...that didn't work either
$$
guess there just aint enough dough in the cupcake business
Oh come on...
That was too easy. You should know batter.
The Thing about Curly Cakes...
It's got a lousy name. It suggests that hair is one of the ingredients.
Every time someone said "blablablah Curly Cakes...."
I immediately thought "...as in Short & Curly Cakes".
Because I am footloose and classy-free!!!
Curly Cakes
Recommended by 1 of 9 Supreme Court Justices!
My fearless forecast is that
My fearless forecast is that cronuts are coming. Probably in JP by yearend; watch for the trend spotters at the Globe to have some in depth cronut stories soon.
Crumbs had Cronuts
Didn't save them.
Boy what a bunch of naysayers
Boy what a bunch of naysayers and monday morning quarterbacks. Places come and go. Let's give them a lot of credit for the start up and small business success they had for several years. They were on quite a roll for quite a while against the odds as people have pointed out.
Cheers and best wishes on next endeavors!
Peak Cupcake
We've seen this happen before with Krispy Kremes.
Daniels in Brighton
They have yummy cupcakes, for around a buck. Their Half Moons are the best bet, though.
No worries, Petsi Pies still kicks ass
Somerville still has Petsi Pies on Beacon St. They make a variety of kick ass pastries; cupcakes, pies, crumb cakes, things with names I'm unfamiliar with. I do my laundry next door and grab a coffee and something sweet and moist while waiting for the dryer to finish, it really makes laundry day a lot more fun.
Lyndell's!
Lyndell's in Somerville has amazing cupcakes, half-moons, and other various baked goods! Since they're also super reasonably priced, I never see the need to go anywhere else :)