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Remember in December when we at Y&H Central launched into a debate over the profitability of cupcake shops? After those posts were published, I got into another debate with a local restaurateur (who preferred to stay off the record).
He suggested the overhead at cupcake shops is higher than I might think; he pointed out that the owners would have to hire “two skilled bakers, at least an additional skilled decorator, a manager plus a host of counter people/stockers/boxers for two shifts a day.” Anyone who’d tries to compensate this level of talent at 18 percent labor costs, he added, is practically running a sweatshop. (That’s another story, for another day.)
I countered with the idea that most cupcakeries don’t need that much talent behind the scenes. “A skilled baker and decorator to make cupcake batter and place a pink heart on…a simple buttercream frosting?” I shot back, somewhat insultingly. (We have this kind of relationship.)
After watching this video yesterday, however, I have to eat a little crow (preferably with some buttercream frosting). This shop obviously has a skilled decorator at the helm.