Sweet Celebrations in Long Beach, Washington
Last spring my friend and I went to Long Beach, Washington to get out of town and enjoy the beach. Walking along the main street through town I saw a sign for cupcakes. Of course I had to go check it out. The shop is located down an ally off the main street. Not the best location because unless you really look for the shop it's easy to walk right by it.
The lady behind the counter, who I believe was the owner was very helpful and friendly. I'm not sure how long Sweet Celebrations had been open when my friend and I visited. I have a feeling the shop was fairly new. As a cupcake lover and party thrower I approached the shop with possibly a different eye than most. The cupcakes in the trays didn't make for a professional display in my opinion. It had a bake sale look to it. The flavors of the cupcakes were written on a dry erase board that the cupcakes were sitting on. Pretty little signs would have made a big difference.
Another thing that caught my eye right away was how the cupcakes had a very homemade-y look to them. As you can see in the photo below where the arrows are pointing, cupcake batter is slopped over the wrappers. As a bakery owner I would not have put these out for sale. Both my friend and I were a bit turned off by how the cupcakes were displayed and how they looked.
I decided to try two cupcakes anyway. My friend passed. She said the look of the display case and how the cupcakes looked turned her off. I wondered how many other people thought the same as my friend.
I went with the maple bacon and orange cream and went out into the sun to sample them.
A Yelp reviewer said she liked the maple bacon cupcakes so much she went back for seconds and the shop is not to be missed. I was curious to see if I would have the same thought. The orange cream was good. The cake was moist and the frosting smooth with a nice orange flavor. For the maple bacon I have to disagree with the Yelp reviewer. I found there to be too much bacon on the top. A lot of the pieces fell off as I bit into it and the bacon flavor overwhelmed the cupcake. The maple of the frosting was very sweet. I took two bites and couldn't finish it.
I haven't been up to Long Beach, Washington in awhile so I don't know if any changes have been made to the shop or the cupcakes. Next time I go up I'll stop into Sweet Celebrations and sample the cupcakes again.
Yikes, that does look like a lot of bacon.
ReplyDeleteKira, it was. A touch of bacon would have been better.
DeleteThat's unfortunate. It's sad to see a new business like that not taking pride in their work and displays. Maybe they'll read your review and make a couple changes?
ReplyDeleteI agree. I know it's a lot to start a new business but competition is fierce and you really need to bring your A game. Make people wanting to come back for more.
DeleteLovely post! Bacon cupcakes?! Could be the best thing ever. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you Holley. You must be a bacon lover :)
DeleteThose cupcakes look absolutely amazing! I used to live by a local cupcake shop and I'm pretty sure just me alone could have kept them in business.
ReplyDeleteIt's great to support local small businesses.
DeleteThose cupcakes look sensational! Is that one covered in BACON!! YUM!
ReplyDeleteIt is indeed covered in bacon. A lot of bacon.
DeleteI'm veggie and so don't partake in bacon pastries, but they seem to be a bit overdone at this point. That said, I LOVE a good cupcake! I am rather un-fussy about batter slopped over the edge—more cake to eat! :)
ReplyDeleteBacon is quite popular. Plenty of veggie cupcakes out there to enjoy :)
DeleteI am certainly intrigued by the maple bacon cupcake, but I'm with you that I'm surprised a shop would think that kind of display was good enough, it does have a very homey bake sale - and even then at a bake sale I don't think the ones you pointed out with the arrows (ha!) would have made it to the table! I also find it amusing that you posted the cupcakes with a giant crab who also seems suspicious of the cupcakes.
ReplyDeleteOrangeMew, I too was intrigued by the maple bacon cupcake which one of the reasons I picked it. I understand what Tenthousandhourmama said about more cupcake to eat but yes, when you're running a business in a competitive industry you need to have great looking product. Your quality of product speaks volumes and can make or break your business. Ha! I never thought about the cupcakes on the crab. hee hee
DeleteToo bad about the bacon cupcake...although I'm a bit stuck in the past with foods and not really sure bacon belongs on everything, so I probably would have passed on it.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I have to say that I would kind of like the "homey" looking of the cupcakes. I don't know, it just seems genuine to me.
Bacon isn't for everyone that's for sure. I think because I bake so much myself, when I go to a shop I want the cupcakes to look a little better or as good as I make them. If I didn't bake the cake spilled over the side probably wouldn't be an issue.
DeleteWell on the bright side, at least you know the cupcakes were home made and not from some machine!
ReplyDeleteThis is true. And it's a reason for me to go up again and try new flavors.
DeleteI think there is a charming way to do homemade-looking and an alarming way to do homemade looking and with a little more time and effort maybe the shop will push into the charming territory. I think it's reasonable to consider that this is Long Beach, Washington and not an urban or even suburban market and not a particularly affluent one, either. That said, I hope she gets it together to exceed and succeed.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Homemade can be charming if done right. I did think about that too, that it's Long Beach and not Portland. However with being a big tourist area I think she could bring in more customers with a little better display area and QC
DeleteI love cupcakes, but I don't head out that way often. My go-to cupcake place is in Puyallup. :) I have a blog post about it here: http://www.threeboycircus.com/2014/03/yummy-cupcakes.html
ReplyDeleteI'll have to go read your blog post about the cupcake shop in Puyallup. I may need to make a trip up there.
ReplyDeleteI have been to this shop a few times- there is no competition! Her cupcakes are AMAZING (I really could care less what a cupcake looks like as long it tastes good). I live in Cali and cupcakes are huge here - yes they may look different but they don't taste anything like hers. Her location is bad not visible from the main street so easy to pass by. But I believe her shop has now closed- very sad :( and I also did not try the bacon cupcake but heard it was a top selling flavor.
ReplyDelete