By, Gary Malicki
Life is full of questions…cupcakes are the answer
My childhood was spent on St. Louis Street on the Eastside of Buffalo and it truly was the center of the universe. You could live your whole life within a few city blocks.
Just around the corner there was a butcher, a candy store, a pizzeria and more. You were only steps away from a bank, a shoe store, the neighborhood movie theater and candy store. It was a glorious time when big box stores and malls didn’t exist.
But one of the best places my mom would send me to get things sometimes, was the bakery. The smell of that shop lingers to this day.
So just imagine the wave of nostalgia that washed over me when I entered the Cupcaked Bakery at 24 Monroe Street a few weeks ago. I contacted the amazing owner, Annie Coe, and asked if she wouldn’t mind a visit to add another story to my EVL Village Life. She was happy to oblige and took time out of her busy day to speak to me about the business.
Cupcaked is located at 24 Monroe Street in Ellicottville, NY 14731. They can be reached at 716-699-1316 or visit online: cupcakedbakeryinc.
com.
The store itself is warm and inviting. At first, I was greeted by Lilly, the retail manager whose smile is positively contagious. The entire time I was there I kept hearing the word, “Yum” bouncing around in my head.
Annie told me her interest in baking was inspired by the time she spent in the kitchen with her grandmother on Sundays, only pausing to watch the Wonderful World of Disney. Her inspiration grew into a first-class operation and she now leads a team of eight employees to make the magic happen.
Aside from the retail business, Cupcaked provides delicious select desserts to Buffalo’s Mr. Pizza on Elmwood, Bella Pizza in Lackawanna and Lake Shore and 49 Coffee in Springville and Arcade. Their product is also available at Tim and Bonnie’s Pizza and Annie’s great brownies can be ordered at Villagio here in town.
Cupcaked began with a stand at the village farmer’s market and they moved into their current location before Christmas last year. They’ve been full-time since 2017.
Annie has a background in event planning education and expertly handles weddings, engagement parties and bachelorettes. Upstairs from the shop is a space she rents for events like bridal showers, birthday parties and more. It can handle up to twenty-four guests and she’s considering using it for a more versatile space for royal ice cookies and seasonal classes and possibly yoga. She even has an Etsy store so she can share her specialties nationwide.
Cupcaked also partners with Holiday Valley for weddings that are held there. She beams when speaking about her customer favorites like her chocolate peanut butter cake and her chocolate and cream cheese bars. They’re currently adding milk shakes, lattes, cappuccino and coffee.
Sara Hurst is the team’s creative director and always busy at work on the sidelines.
I don’t mind admitting that I grabbed a few samples for home and came dangerously close to hiding them from the family!
Thank you, Annie, Lilly and Sara! Now I thoroughly understand the sign in front of your store that says, “life is full of questions…cupcakes are the answer”.