The lowly muffin is no longer getting the back-of-the-display-case treatment. Uprising Muffin Company opened near the Shaw metro last Friday serving flavors like piña colada, coffee cake, and maple pancake.

“I just realized there’s the cupcake craze, and the doughnut thing started taking off…But muffins don’t really have a place where they’re the star of the show,” says owner/muffin man Donnie Simpson Jr., who formerly worked in radio at WPGC (and is the son of the Donnie Simpson). He says the cafe has been four years in the making.

Simpson has about 35 muffin flavors in his arsenal, but the menu will feature a dozen each day, including about eight staples and others that rotate in and out. The muffins are made from scratch each day with 10 ingredients or fewer and no artificial preservatives or colors. Some of the early favorites: a chocolate muffin with a cream cheese center as well as a savory muffin with bacon, egg, and cheese. The muffins are $3 for one, six for $16, or a dozen for $31.

But it’s not just muffins. Uprising also serves coffee, sandwiches, and salads. Simpson also encourages people to come hang out with plenty of outlets and wifi.

So will muffins be the new cupcake?

“I wouldn’t say that,” Simpson says. “The last thing I can afford to do is have some cupcake war.”

Uprising Muffin Company, 1817 7th St. NW; (202) 630-8140; uprisingmuffins.com

Photo by Jessica Sidman