Lancaster Cupcake has been open for nearly four months at its newest location, 111 Springwood Drive, Suite 200, Lebanon. It’s in a 4,000-square-foot space in North Cornwall Commons, near the Lebanon Valley Exposition Center and Fairgrounds.
Jeff Mitchell, Lancaster Cupcake president, said the grand opening was held May 17, with a soft opening the previous week.
“We had over 300 people visit the store grand opening day. Any time we open a store or have a special event we have some giveaways,” Mitchell explained.
“For this grand opening, the giveaways included free cupcakes for the first 125 in line and free cupcakes for a year for the first 25 people in line; about 25 people camped out overnight to ensure they would be cupcake winners. Since they become frequent guests, getting to know them and hear their stories is fun,” he said.
A from-scratch bakery, Lancaster Cupcake offers 16 flavors of cupcakes each day, including some that are gluten-free and vegan. Selections changes weekly.
Lancaster Cupcake’s signature flavor is strawberry champagne, and Mitchell, who co-owns the business with wife Emily, said it’s almost always on the cupcake menu; the exception is a week or two near the holiday season when there are a lot of holiday flavors.
He said Emily created the strawberry champagne cupcake, and it’s based on a family recipe that she and her mom would make together. Another fan favorite flavor is dark chocolate therapy, a recent menu addition.
Lancaster Cupcakes has two Lancaster locations — 24 W. Orange St. in downtown Lancaster and 260 Granite Run Drive, outside the city in Manheim Township. There’s also a cupcake food truck in Lancaster Cupcake’s signature pink.
“We built the Lebanon location from the ground up, so there’s a bit of extra attention to detail. Our handcrafted cupcakes are baked fresh daily in our state-of-the-art bakery. We even have an area where people can see the process of making the cupcakes,” Mitchell said
He said the décor was chosen to complement the idea of fun, flavorful cupcakes. One of the details that carries through all three locations is a signature pink tile.
“They’re sourced from Spain and are reminiscent of the look of the strawberry champagne cupcakes,” he said.
In addition to the main store area with its case filled with tempting gourmet cupcakes, Lancaster Cupcake’s Lebanon location features an event space with demo kitchen that seats 35 to 40 people. Event hosts are welcome to use the ovens, refrigerator or sink, and outside catering and BYOB are welcome. It’s available for special events such as birthday or anniversary parties, bridal or baby showers, and business meetings. Mitchell said every Monday and Friday the space is used for a kid’s story time, a ticketed event where children hear a story and then decorate a cupcake with a theme related to the story.
Mitchell said the idea for a Lebanon location had been discussed for a bit, since some customers at their other two locations either live or work in Lebanon. Some corporate clients are also located in Lebanon County.
“We had also done some events at the Lebanon Valley Mall with our food truck, and it would sell out,” he said. “When the opportunity to expand into Lebanon presented itself, we decided it was the right time.”
Gourmet cupcakes have been popular for some time. An August 2018 post on The Daily Meal regarding cupcakes says “When you need more substance than a cookie and less punch than a slice of pie — cupcakes are always there. The classic confection is a birthday party staple, the subject of several hit TV bake-offs, and the perfect pick-me-up for people who find themselves thinking, ‘I deserve to treat myself.’”
According to a profile on SCORE Lancaster-Lebanon’s website, the Mitchells “began their cupcake journey in 2011 when Emily turned her lifelong love of baking, inspired by time spent in her mother’s kitchen, into Pennsylvania’s only subscription Cupcakery.”
In 2012 they competed as a team on the Food Network’s “Cupcake Wars” and captured second place. The food truck made its debut in 2013, and a few years later the downtown Lancaster location opened.
For more information about Lancaster Cupcake visit lancastercupcake.com or its Facebook and Instagram pages.
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