It's all about cupcakes at the Pink Cupcake Shack in Fairfield

By ROB SULLIVAN

These days, Diane Mercado has one slogan that she swears by: “It’s all about cupcakes!”

The owner of the Pink Cupcake Shack intoned that motto with a smile as she explained her journey from the corporate world to a small cupcake shop located in the Brick Walk in Fairfield.

“I was in the corporate world for more than 20 years,” she said. “And then my company closed down, like so many others also did in the recession. So I wanted a change and this is something I wanted to do.”

Rather than open a full scale bakery, Mercado wanted to focus on creating one product and creating it well. Obviously, that product was cupcakes.

“Nobody can be crabby when they’re eating a cupcake,” she explained.

The Pink Cupcake Shack is located at 1215 Post Road in the Brick Walk, adjacent to Magnolia. The location is in a prime area, with plenty of foot traffic both from people walking through the Brick Walk and those shopping in Fairfield center. Mercado believes she was fortunate to find such a superb location.

“There was a bakery here before me and when they closed, it became available,” said the owner. “The ovens were already here, so that was great. It’s the perfect size for me; it’s cozy, it’s not too big.”

Mercado explained that the oven can bake eight dozen cupcakes. She does all of the baking and about 90 percent of the frosting.

The business is also somewhat of a family affair, as Diane Mercado’s father Roland Young handles the dish washing duties for the shop every morning.

“I retired from the Trumbull Board of Education 17 years ago,” pointed out Young, who is back at work at the age of 87. “And working here is much harder than that ever was.”

The Pink Cupcake Shack is indeed all about cupcakes, but also offers cake bites, butter and sugar cookies, custom cakes and coffee and tea. Mercado’s assistant Jen Rogers lends a hand with the cookies and the cake bites.

“We have a nice system here and it’s a great atmosphere,” said the owner. “Through word of mouth, people are starting to hear about us. We just had Valentine’s Day and that was crazy.”

The store celebrated its first anniversary on February 5^th and a lot of satisfied customers crowded in to help celebrate the birthday. However, with the success the Pink Cupcake Shop has enjoyed as it heads into its second year, Mercado never really escapes from the world of cupcakes.

“When I’m on vacation, I’ll visit local cupcake shops and see what’s happening,” she said. “Or I’ll be walking through the supermarket and start thinking, ‘Why can’t we do this?’”

Thinking about cupcakes constantly can lead to a host of new creations. And that is one of the main reasons that the Pink Cupcake Shack currently offers sixty varieties of cupcakes, a number that is sure to increase.

This reporter would love to list all 60 varieties here, but writer’s cramp is a genuine concern. Instead visit www.pinkcupcakeshack.com for a complete listing. The shop is open Tuesday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information call 203-259-PINK.

Comments

[hans]

you do not need cupcakes my friend

[Banners oklahoma city]

Amazing post! I initially found your blog a week or so ago, and I want to subscribe to your RSS feed.