valentine's day Reminder: 1,000 free cupcakes today from Crumbs opening at Newark airport

As we told you about earlier this week, 1,000 free cupcakes today at Crumbs in Newark Airport! I don't know off the top of my head about other cupcake bakeries in airports but have been saying for years that they should be in airports (I've seen a few random cupcakes at airports but not a cupcake bakery per se). Visit Crumbs' Facebook page for the latest. We Tweeted to Newark mayor Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) about this giveaway and he wrote: "Congrats! But oh the temptation!"

And this news of 1,000 free cupcakes this Friday, January 28th, starting at 6 a.m., at their Newark, New Jersey store grand opening:

valentine's day $66 million merger for Crumbs Bake Shop

From Dealbook:

The cupcake craze is getting crazier.

Crumbs Bake Shop, the country’s largest cupcake chain, will go public through a $66 million merger with an investment company, the 57th Street General Acquisition Corporation.

The deal, which is expected to be announced on Monday, gives Crumbs the money to execute its ambitious expansion plans...

Last year, Crumbs posted an estimated $31 million in revenue and generated $2.5 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. That translates into about 13 million cupcakes sold, Mr. Bauer said.

The investment company will pay Crumbs $27 million in cash and $39 million in stock. Crumbs owners also stand to receive an additional $44 million in stock depending on the company’s future stock performance and earnings. The deal is expected to close next month, resulting in Crumbs shares’ being listed on a major exchange.

The Bauers will retain a substantial stake in the business and continue to run the company. Edwin Lewis, a well-known former fashion executive who acquired 50 percent of Crumbs for $10 million in 2008, will remain on the company’s board.

See Crumbs.com for information on all their locations. Their latest bakery opened in Chicago this weekend, and other recent Crumbs openings include Greenwich, Connecticut and Clarendon, Virginia.

At our cupcake meetup today, Nichelle and I were just discussing the expansion of cupcake bakeries, with Sprinkles set to open in New York in April, Magnolia Bakery and BabyCakes in Los Angeles, Molly's Cupcakes coming to New York, etc. It will be interesting to see how far and wide cupcake bakeries, the big names and the smaller ones, spread. What do you think?

valentine's day You're wrong, L.A. Times, cupcakes aren't over by a long shot

Enough said. They are just wrong, and they will see. Cupcakes are not a "trend," despite the media hype around the idea of them as a trend. You can see from our steadily growing listings on the right-hand side, from the fact that the major cupcake bakeries (Magnolia Bakery, Sprinkles, Crumbs) are constantly expanding, from the explosion in events like Iron Cupcake and CupcakeCamp and online events like Cupcake Hero. Also, if that's the case, why is there always a giant line at Sprinkles in Beverly Hills? (I haven't been to Crumbs or Magnolia Bakery in LA so can't personally attest, but I've never been to Sprinkles when there wasn't a huge line.)

Los Angeles Times, "Goodbye to These Tired Trends of 2010"

Gourmet Cupcakeries

Sprinkles, Crumbs, Magnolia Bakery – the high-end cupcake racket has spread like a muffin top over the waistline of Los Angeles.

valentine's day Limited edition Pinkalicious cupcakes at Crumbs Bakeshop

Pinkalicious, the popular New York Times bestselling children's book (click here to read our interview with the autor and illustrator) and now theater character, has her own limited edition cupcake at Crumbs Bakeshop. I also got in trouble for the first time in years of taking photos at Crumbs - perhaps it's a new rule, or the Crumbs I went into was particularly persnickety, but whatever, I got these before I was told no more photos. And yes, in New York City, due to our labeling laws, you can find out exactly how many calories are in your cupcakes. See Crumbs.com for ordering and shipping details and store locations.




Apple Cobbler (as opposed to Apple Pie cupcakes, pictured below), is their flavor of the month


blackbottom cheesecake cupcakes


pumpkin cupcakes


chocolate pecan pie cupcakes


apple pie cupcakes

valentine's day 1,000 free cupcakes Friday at new Crumbs in Washington, DC

Via TBD.com:

Crumbs Bake Shop opened its doors to its first D.C. location at 604 11th St. NW last Saturday. To celebrate the opening, the New York-based bakery will be giving away 1,000 free cupcakes on Friday, Nov. 19.

See www.crumbs.com for all their store locations.