Cupcake Station
136 N. Old Woodward, Birmingham
(248) 593-1903
http://www.cupcakestation.com
Kerry Johnson was expecting the worst when he told his partner of two-and-a-half years, Tom Holleman, that he wanted to open up a cupcake shop.
"I thought he'd turn the other way," said Johnson, 40, of Pontiac.
Johnson wanted to sell mini-cakes since he was a kid, but he underestimated their popularity.
"I really had no idea it was trendy," he said. Now, as co-owner of Cupcake Station in downtown Birmingham, Johnson sees just how crazy people are for these delectable treats.
"A lot of it is people like the individually of the cupcake," Johnson said. "They don't have to buy a whole cake, it's really kind of portion control. You have six people, you have six cupcakes and everyone has a cupcake. I really had no idea cupcakes were gonna be such a hit."
Within two weeks of their grand opening on Aug. 18, Cupcake Station sold an average of 1,500-1,800 little cakes a day.
"We were thrilled to have lines out of our door," Johnson said.
The cupcake enthusiast owes some of his creative vibes to his part-time job as a landscape designer, which he's been doing for 20 years.
"It's almost like second hand coming up with cupcake ideas," he said. "You can be so creative with it. You can come up with different flavors and ways to decorate."
Cupcake Station offers eight varieties a week. And at $2.75 each (or in bulk at a discounted price) it's still less than a speciality coffee at Starbucks. Plus, the ingredients – chocolate from Belgium and vanilla from Madagascar – are all natural.
"They're fresh every day," Johnson said.
Two cupcakes, which were featured treats for a week, will become regulars at the shop because they flew off the shelf. Southern Red Velvet, a rich, moist cake dusted with dark cocoa powder over a smooth butter cream frosting, and the Lemon Lust will be given full-time treatment.
"They were going as fast as we were baking them," Johnson said.
