Hey Burnet Road! [New Cupcake Shop Coming Your Way]

Congratulations, you're getting a Hey Cupcake! Sans hitch and wheels, that is.

A brief stop in the new digs, still under construction, led to a chat with Wes Hurt, who co-owns and operates the operation with Brian Morris.

The storefront is lined with a pink, chocolate, and red color scheme, while the interior retains nods to the airstream roots. Stainless steel flashes on the countertops, and an actual piece of trailer sits behind the counter.

Wes talks about the development and refinement of the recipes, moving from his original attempts, which he described as "terrible," to the decadent, consistent creations that evolved with the help of his mother and friends. New recipes are often the results of suggestions from his baking staff.

Waxing nostalgic about foods of the past century, Wes described his vision for something in the vein of "America's Cupcake," a niche between what he named "over-saturation and novelty."

The vision is grand, a big jump from the trailer, and includes a large backyard that Hurt hopes will encourage a carnival atmosphere. The new shop will feature cupcake schwag (t-shirts, etc.), a small covered band stand out back, a cottonwood tree equipped with a bubble-blowing machine, hula hoops, and a few games. Maybe you can convince the babysitter to bring the kids.

New cakes may included a "healthy" cupcake nicknamed The Oxymoron, and one that must be full of some southern-accent-"i love them redheads"-justkeeplivin'-goodness, The Matthew McConaughcake.

The new location, at 5530 Burnet (across from Atomic Tattoo and Karavel Shoes) comes as Hey Cupcake! celebrates its one-year anniversary at the South Congress location. Half of the store is dedicated to a new commercial kitchen that replaces a rented one in way-east-Austin, and it's live right now. The Burnet store is aiming for a soft opening on November 15.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@austinist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By lukequinton in Food on October 21, 2008 10:06 AM 0 Comments

Comments [rss]

eliteaviator

I took my two nephews to the Burnet location on 6/20 and was later shocked to see on my credit card statement that a staffer had added for herselfa a $2 tip without my authorization. I will never return the hey cupcake, and I will always repeat my experience when someone mentions anything about cupcakes.

tx_steph

Whoa. Who knew something as benign as cupcakes would be so controversial?

LoudMouth

I don't get why people like Guero's. I don't get why the only people I've ever known that do like Guero's are from NYC. I don't get why people think that cupcakes from a cupcake shop are better than cupcakes from a more diverse bakery. I really don't get why Hey Cupcake is in business because the one time I ate a Hey Cupcake I almost chipped a tooth. I don't get why people have to shoot each other or eat at filthy Torchy's Tacos but I am not going to excuse one or the other because they are both bad decisions.

savaro

Dude, some people really like cupcakes, just as an occasional indulgence. I happen to be one of them. You don't get it, fine, don't frequent those establishments. I don't get why people overpay to eat the crappy food at Guero's, but whatever, that's their business.

h o l y s h i t a k i

this has got to be a front for a weed dealing widow momma trying to make ends meet....for real.

JohnM

I waited in line outside that famous cupcake place (FROM SEX AND THE CITY OMG!) in New York this summer. My cupcake was just alright, and I was mostly pissed that I waited in line for 45 minutes for a fucking cupcake.

lukequinton

I think that particular area in the neighborhood is ripe for new spots. If the cupcake carnival succeeds, who's to say . . . but I'll take a huge, delicious carrot cupcake over an abandoned building either way. Let the people vote with their feet.

kenneth1

Sugar Mama's, Polkadots, Hey Cupcake. Whatever. I'm just stumped as to why anyone would pay the equivalent price of a cheeseburger for a cup of flour & sugar.

savaro

I haven't tried Sugar Mama's, but Polkadots is far superior to Hey Cupcake, and it's about as central as you can get. Sad to say but I think Hey Cupcake might be better served by putting their money into improving their product quality rather than branching out.

tomt

This is good for the Allandale and Rosedale folks, but I'm stumped as to why anyone in the '04 would prefer Hey Cupcake to Sugar Mama's. I know Hey Cupcakes portions are bigger, but the quality @ Sugar Mama's is decidedly better. And the Black and Tan just owns.

LoudMouth

You also forgot

Cupprimo

Toot Sweet Cupcakes

The Cupcake Bar

Let Them Eat Cupcakes

Cupcake Hut

Cupcakepalooza

Cupcake-A-Go-Go

Cupcake Time!

Cupcake Madness

The Cupcake Lounge

The Cupcake Bakery

Cupcakes-N-More

The Cupcake Store

Cupcakes Are Us

and

Cupcakes in Da House

Not to mention the 437829y71964 other bakeries that serve a damn cupcake.

LoudMouth

I'd rather just eat a banana at 49 cents a pound than eat a sugar cake for something like $59.99 a pound.

Just sayin'.

oh steph

Well, let's think about this. How many specialty cupcake shops do we have already? The only one's I know of are Hey Cupcake, Polkadots and the infitinetly-superior-to-all-others Sugar Mama's. So, with this new home base for Hey Cupcake, that makes four total. In a town of 750,000.

Unless you are having a birthday party or have a whole gaggle of people living in your house, making an entire batch of cupcakes at home is pretty wasteful. Only every so often do I *really* want a cupcake, and I would much rather pop in and pick one up from a local business than bake an entire pan that would go stale within a couple of days.

Just sayin'