Travis Taylor | Lariat Photographer
Copy Editor
People in the Baylor area may be pleased to know What About Cupcakes? has opened a second store located at 1400 Speight Ave.
On April 1 the new location opened in a small plaza next to K and S Properties and the House of Healing therapeutic massage parlor just seconds down the street from the H-E-B on 12th Street and Speight Avenue. There will be a grand opening party on Friday for the location. Admission to the party is free and open to the public, but the cupcakes are priced as usual. The local band Sloppy Joe will play at the grand opening from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
What About Cupcakes? is a true family business. According to its website, www.whataboutcupcakes.com, the project began when founder Laura Hill was inspired to open a specialty cupcake store based on her mom’s unique baking and decorating experience.
Alicia Stead, cashier at the new location and Hill’s niece said her favorite part about working at the store is the people. “There’s such a wide variety of people, and of course I love the cupcakes. My favorite cupcake is the peanut butter with the chocolate frosting.” She said the store has two “cupcake flavors of the day” during the week and one on Saturdays. Stead said the store also sells sodas, water and coffee.
“When the space became available, someone mentioned it to my mom,” Holly Harris, manager of the new location and Hill’s daughter, said. “The original clientele consisted of a lot of Baylor students and it was just natural that we should open a second location.”
Harris said her favorite cupcake flavor is peanut butter.
“But strawberry is the most popular one for our customers,” Harris said.
The new location has WiFi and lounge areas for students to study. “We’ve already had a few people come in and stay until closing, just studying and hanging out with friends,” Stead said. “This place is really relaxed and we want people to stay for as long as they need to get work done or just relax with friends.”
The original location at 108 N 25th St. opened in 2008 and has grown a steady following of locals and students alike. It is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. The new location has extended hours to accommodate students’ late schedules. It is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday.
The store also sells T-shirts for $20 and v-necks for $21. Stead said that if people wear the T-shirts in the store on Tuesdays and Saturdays, they get a free cupcake. The store also has a punch card that is given to customers for each visit. Once they get 10 punches on the card, they receive a box of four cupcakes for free.
What About Cupcakes? has a delivery service as well as a catering service for weddings and other events in which customers want customized cupcakes or order them in bulk.
“I’ve done a lot of weddings myself,” Harris said. “Some people want a lot of cupcakes with their initials on them or something like that.”
