# Cupcake fad is crashing **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 10, 2014, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupcake-fad-is-crashing/692736 "2014-07-10T01:07:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupcake-fad-is-crashing/692736/61 "2014-07-10T17:18:11Z")
Two cupcake places opened up on a retail-heavy street near me and one of them just closed. They were the fancy frufy place that apparently couldn’t get the cake part of cupcake right. It was very dry according to several people. The other place is cupcake oriented, but serves other things and does catering. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupcake-fad-is-crashing/692736/62 "2014-07-10T17:19:35Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > the firm is reorganizing. > > coming soon > > Muffins The 90’s want their idea, along with their EP length VCR tapes of 30Something back. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupcake-fad-is-crashing/692736/63 "2014-07-10T17:34:54Z")
There used to be on near where we lived in Frisco that had exceptionally good Red Velvet cupcakes, but they had lots of problems. The Dallas Morning News did an exposé on them and, apparently, they’d left a long string of unpaid creditors behind them, as well as shoddy business practices, like attacking the competition in an underhanded way. Then came out the absolute worst part; their cupcakes were made from box mixes and _that_ sounded the death knell. So much for spending $4 a pop. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupcake-fad-is-crashing/692736/64 "2014-07-10T17:57:45Z")
Not me, I love cupcakes. They are the perfect little bit of cake and icing. 🙂 If I bake a cake, I’ll eat the damn thing. This way I only eat one cupcake. I have no willpower when it comes to baking. None. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupcake-fad-is-crashing/692736/65 "2014-07-10T18:18:56Z")
> [@Fubaya](#): > > I don’t understand cupcakes but I don’t understand cake either. Why can’t we get a pie store instead? [Mighty Sweet Mini Pies](http://mightysweetminipies.com/) is on my side of Downtown Houston. These fads are slightly silly. Cupcakes, bacon, etc., have always been around. Well-made cupcakes will remain popular, even if there are fewer cupcake-only stores. This [cupcake/snoball shop](http://www.whatsupcupcake-houston.com/index.php) also has a trailer–but aren’t food trucks going out of fashion? [Taco trucks](http://www.houstoniamag.com/eat-and-drink/best-mexican-restaurants-2014/articles/houstons-10-essential-taco-trucks-july-2014) have been around forever & aren’t going to disappear… Also hot: [macaroons](http://blogs.houstonpress.com/eating/2014/05/the_ten_best_macarons_in_houston.php). (Now I’m hungry!) ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupcake-fad-is-crashing/692736/66 "2014-07-10T19:03:40Z")
Food trucks aren’t a fad as much as they are a way for creative people to strike out on their own with next to no capital. For every chef who gets someone to invest in his or her new restaurant, there are probably hundreds who don’t get that chance. If a truck and a few hundred dollars in equipment is someone’s ticket to self employment and the possibility of being discovered, then I just don’t see a downside. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupcake-fad-is-crashing/692736/67 "2014-07-10T19:51:38Z")
Food trucks are still going very, very strong here in NE Ohio. ---
**Author:** ![yellowjacketcoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4bbf92/32.png) [@yellowjacketcoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowjacketcoder)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupcake-fad-is-crashing/692736/68 "2014-07-10T20:18:51Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Your subliminal preference for cake is showing… :smack: > [@Fubaya](#): > > I don’t understand cupcakes but I don’t understand cake either. Why can’t we get a pie store instead? We actually have one of those were I live. Lucky for me it’s not on my way home or I’d probably weigh twice as much. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupcake-fad-is-crashing/692736/69 "2014-07-10T20:40:36Z")
Dammit. Now I want cake (cupcake or otherwise)! ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupcake-fad-is-crashing/692736/70 "2014-07-10T21:37:15Z")
> [@Fubaya](#): > > I don’t understand cupcakes but I don’t understand cake either. Why can’t we get a pie store instead? [http://seattle.cbslocal.com/2012/11/15/best-pie-shops-in-puget-sound/](http://seattle.cbslocal.com/2012/11/15/best-pie-shops-in-puget-sound/) You get your pick of a dozen pie stores in my area. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupcake-fad-is-crashing/692736/71 "2014-07-10T21:42:39Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > I’m probably making some stupid blunder here but help me out. > > [CYNK Technology - Business Insider](http://www.businessinsider.com/cynk-technology-2014-7) > > That says it has undergone a 25000 percent increase. But if it went from ten cents to fourteen dollars and seventy one cents, isn’t that a 14600 percent increase? Business insider are just giving you next week’s numbers. CYNK [now over $20](http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-07-10/pure-madness-revenueless-assetless-sync-continues-over-5bn-now-bigger-cablevision-an). The CEO?sole employee/major shareholder as 210 million shares… ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupcake-fad-is-crashing/692736/72 "2014-07-10T22:03:46Z")
Anyone ever been in one of those specialty bundt cake places? They seem to be all over the place in Dallas, but I’ve never really had the desire to check it out. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupcake-fad-is-crashing/692736/73 "2014-07-10T23:00:19Z")
Crumbs at least you got a giant cupcake for your $4. The place I _really_ don’t understand is Baked By Melissa. Those are $1 each but they are minuscule! They’re not even bite size, they are like half-bite size. And the store always seem like they are wasting so much square footage. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupcake-fad-is-crashing/692736/74 "2014-07-10T23:49:03Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > Also hot: [macaroons](http://blogs.houstonpress.com/eating/2014/05/the_ten_best_macarons_in_houston.php). > > (Now I’m hungry!) Mentioned above, but nitpick is those aren’t macaroons. They are macarons. Different thing, unless the linguistic merge has already happened (and it may have.) ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupcake-fad-is-crashing/692736/75 "2014-07-10T23:53:16Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > Gourmet peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are the next big thing. That ship sailed about ten or fifteen years ago. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupcake-fad-is-crashing/692736/76 "2014-07-10T23:59:56Z")
I don’t know about other places, but here in Richmond the donut craze is taking off. And I am a big fan. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2014, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupcake-fad-is-crashing/692736/77 "2014-07-11T00:11:17Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > What’s not to like? > > _ **Cupcakes are a stupid way to serve cake** _, that’s what’s not to like. The cake is attached to a piece of paper that you have to pull off, (causing half of the thing to fall apart onto the ground), so it gets all over your hands anyway, and makes the whole thing pointless. You were better off using a plate and fork all along. > > For this reason, _ **cupcakes are one of the most annoying things mankind has ever invented** _.\* > > \*Muffins would achieve the same annoyance, but they are structurally somewhat more sound, (and they don’t have bad frosting to cause a mess). Anyone else reminded of the people on infomercials? ---
**Author:** ![cardinal\_fang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal_fang/32/15316_2.png) [@cardinal\_fang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cardinal_fang)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2014, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupcake-fad-is-crashing/692736/78 "2014-07-11T00:29:11Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > I don’t know about other places, but here in Richmond the donut craze is taking off. And I am a big fan. I came in to mention that. $2 doughnuts are the new $3 cupcakes. I am OK with this. ---
**Author:** ![umyes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/7ba0ec/32.png) [@umyes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/umyes)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2014, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupcake-fad-is-crashing/692736/79 "2014-07-11T00:44:30Z")
We have a cupcake store in the next town and they charge $2 per cupcake. They are very good but the price tag is a bit steep. We only get them for special occasions. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2014, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupcake-fad-is-crashing/692736/80 "2014-07-11T03:03:39Z")
Cupcakes are a prime example of how pastries have evolved for the better in Thailand since I’ve been here. In the 1980s, cakes and pastries were all made with inferior ingredients. You had to go to Malaysia to find anything decent along those lines, and eventually Laos and Cambodia as those countries opened up. Bread especially, it was this horrible gunky white substance that made Wonderbread seem gourmet. But nowadays, there are some really topnotch goodies to be had in just about every one of our ubiquitous shopping malls, and there must be dozens of cupcake specialists. It’s cupcake heaven now, with really premium ones commanding the equivalent of US$3 or $4, maybe even $6, all quite pricey for Thailand. But the fad may be dying here too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupcake-fad-is-crashing/692736.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupcake-fad-is-crashing/692736.md?page=5)