When the Cupcake Spot opened in Tampa over three years ago, it seemed an iffy endeavor. Although cupcakes still qualified as part of a nationwide retro-nostalgic trend for simple homespun desserts, the Bay area had been predictably behind the curve. And owner Nicole Longo wasn't exactly a professional baker.
After 18 years in the corporate world, mostly branding and marketing companies and their products, she identified an opportunity and "just grew weary of the rat race," she explained back then. "This is equally difficult but quite different."
Although times were tough in the beginning — long hours and a steep learning curve — Longo says that she and her husband recouped their initial investment in just four months. Now, three years later, Longo has moved the Tampa location to better digs and opened a second outlet across the bay, in downtown St. Petersburg.
There are managers in each store and Longo has stepped back to overseeing the operation, with some freelance marketing clients on the side. Still, she can't walk away entirely.
"What if someone calls in sick?" Longo explains. "Retail is a crying baby — you have to be up for any and all hours." And although Cupcake Spot was the only dedicated small cake bakery in town when it opened, "everyone does cupcakes now."
Recently, just two blocks away from Cupcake Spot's St. Pete location, another self-taught entrepreneur has entered the bootstrap baked goods biz, resurrecting an even more humble homemade treat that has yet to spur reality shows on Food TV.
The Royal Brownie Company is the child of Alexis Winning, who is the first to admit that she's not much of a baker. "I was afraid of the oven until I went to college," she explains. "Then I saw a brownie recipe in a book about break-ups, and thought I'd give it a try."
Like so many culinary entrepreneurs, the move from casual baker to thoughts of a baking business started when friends complimented her chocolatey creations. Back then, she still relied on a recipe that used boxed cake mix and store-bought shortcuts. She's graduated from that now.
Her Royal Brownie Company stocks about a half-dozen styles or more, depending on the day, from straightforward chocolate with sprinkles to brownies flavored with cardamom. And, like the early days at Cupcake Spot, Winning plans to sell out — you need to get there early for the best selection.
It's worth it, partly because brownies aren't as ubiquitous as cupcakes and still qualify as an unusual treat, partly because the brownies are damn good. The basic styles have that ideal combination of rich chew and delicate crumb, cake and cookie combined into one convenient package.
Winning's flavors are nicely subtle, like raspberry that brightens and lightens the dense chocolate core, or milk chocolate that meshes seamlessly with cardamom. Even the ones that are jam-packed with ingredients — like toffee or turtle — always remember that the brownie itself is the star.
She has also added some clever touches to the usual brownie formula, like cutting the crusty, chewy edges off of every batch and bagging them up to sell separately. Even if you don't normally care about the edge-versus-center debate, it's difficult to see the bags of those little bites sitting on the counter and not pony up, if only as an extra snack on the way back to home or work.
Although Winning has pretty boxes for special occasions and can create beautiful gift baskets, Royal Brownie Company reflects the fledgling nature of the business. Instead of the girly pastels and diner-style stools of Cupcake Spot, Winning has an entirely utilitarian storefront. She makes change out of a tupperware container, pours milk out of gallon jugs and has to make her brownies at a commercial kitchen down the street.
Winning still works a full-time job as an events coordinator at Derby Lane, but she'd someday like to make a living off of these sweet childhood snacks. And with a success story right down the street, it seems less a dream and more an optimistic possibility.
This article appears in Apr 28 – May 4, 2011.