The Tampa area has handfuls of cupcakeries. But there isn't one with a 24-hour cupcake ATM, which is why locals have been buzzing about the arrival of Sprinkles since February.
Their wait for the new bakery at 717 S. Dakota Ave. comes to an end this week.
Specializing in the Big Three (cupcakes, cookies and ice cream), Sprinkles will open its doors to Hyde Park Village at 9 a.m. Thursday.
Yep, 9 a.m.
The outdoor cupcake ATM, whose house-made inventory rotates daily like the bakery's, is similar to a vending machine. Patrons pick a flavor, swipe their card, watch the ATM's arm scoop up their selection like a bowling alley claw machine, and retrieve their order when the rotating door in front opens.
ATM cupcakes cost $4.25 because they're packaged in a favor box to prevent squishing, while 'cakes inside are priced at $3.75.
"Any flavor that we're making that day will be available at the ATM. We bake and frost those fresh every few hours," says general manager Allie Brown, who moved to Tampa two months ago for the job and previously worked at a cupcake-only Sprinkles in D.C. "We stock it ourselves probably three or four times a day at least."
According to Brown, that fresh aspect (alongside the ATM's coolness) is what sets Sprinkles, founded in Beverly Hills, California, as the world's first cupcake bakery, apart from other cupcake-driven sweets shops. She says the bakery pipes its icing by hand and everything is made in-house from raw ingredients, including flour, baking soda, sugar and fruit.
Cupcakes came first and remain the most popular Sprinkles item, but the bakery's cookies and ice cream have a following all their own (CL's told if you're in-the-know, you go for a cookie). Both have helped the bakery stay innovative and relevant, as have monthly seasonal creations like the salt-rimmed Margarita Cupcake, whose key lime frosting and tequila-infused key lime cake will debut in Tampa Sunday.
With similar stores and a family-oriented atmosphere, Hyde Park Village is a lot like the other locales Sprinkles has tapped into. It marks the 19th location and 11th ATM for the nationwide bakery brand.
"The neighborhood has been super, super welcoming in general, and everyone that has been in is super exited for us to open," Brown says.
Sprinkles will operate 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday.
