Specialty Food Magazine is the leading publication for retailers, manufacturers and foodservice professionals in the specialty food trade. It provides news, trends and business-building insights that help readers keep their businesses competitive.
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STORE TOUR of visiting our bakery a fun one. We want to be a passion brand— whimsical and fun!" Paul Georgetown Cupcake: Cupcake Couture Style prevails at this high-end cupcake chain, which originated in D.C.'s Georgetown in 2008 and now includes an additional three locations. The artful treats can be decorated with custom fondant shapes, monograms, emblems and logos—and they're a huge draw for weddings and corporate events. The bakery's iconic pink boxes with black stickers and modern, bright white, airy stores with gleam- ing silver platters evoke high-end boutiques. Not surprisingly, of the two sisters who founded and own the business, one, Katherine Kallinis, worked in fashion at Gucci, while Sophie LaMontagne left a career in venture capital. Both women are media savvy. They star in the TLC series, "D.C. Cupcakes" (with new episodes airing this summer), and they've penned a book, The Cupcake Diaries: Recipes and Memories from the Sisters of Georgetown Cupcake (HarperOne, 2011). They're also smart businesswomen, having designed the shops as exciting destinations. Each location has an open kitchen so customers can watch the cupcakes being baked, frosted and decorated. Shoppers can choose from a dizzying array of permanent and seasonal flavors, which gives plenty of reasons to keep returning. The menu includes 10 perennial flavors. Another six—among them, gluten-free Lava Fudge and a pink cupcake honoring Susan G. Komen—are available every day by special order. Five special flavors are offered each day of the week (such as Chocolate Coconut, Chocolate Mint, Cinnamon, Honey Banana, and Toffee Crunch on Mondays), and up to 14 seasonal flavors are offered each month. In June alone, the options include: Lavender Earl Grey Teacake, White Chocolate Raspberry and Father's Day (a variety of flavors deco- rated with "DAD" in fondant). July brings Marble Brownie Fudge, Strawberry and Fourth of July. For those visiting the store for the first time, the sisters recommend Salted Caramel, Peanut Butter Fudge, Lava Fudge and Red Velvet. Staple ingredients in the cupcakes include Valrhona choco- late, Madagascar bourbon vanilla, European-style butter and fresh fruit. "We pride ourselves on making the best cupcakes with the best ingredients," says Kallinis. "And we also make the experience 134 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE ❘ specialtyfood.com Paul: Authentic, Elegant Boulangerie Bread-centric European bakery-café chains, such as Au Bon Pain and Le Pain Quotidien, have had a successful track record in this country. Enter Paul, an artful, upscale and authentic twist on this winning formula. Although Paul is a major chain, with about 500 stores in 25 countries (including three locations in D.C. and more to come throughout the U.S.), you'd never know it upon stepping inside any of its outlets. Perhaps that's because, rather than being whipped out of thin air, and thus seeming contrived, Paul truly has its roots in a family bakery founded in 1889 in Lille, France. Informed by the philoso- phy that Paul "offers a journey through time for the price of a loaf of bread," each outlet is outfitted with hand-painted tiles from France, wooden ceilings, rich fabric curtains, velvet sofas and chairs, baking utensils and framed replicas of bakery-themed paintings, whose originals are owned by Paul chairman Francis Holder. The goal: to transport patrons to a traditional boulangerie-café in France. Despite these constants, the ambience of each location is unique and inspired by its immediate environment. The American flagship store, which opened in D.C.'s Penn Quarter in May 2011, is a majestic 3,220 square feet, appropriate considering it's located on Pennsylvania Avenue between the White House and the U.S. Capitol. The space features an intimate tea room, as well as a café section that looks into the bread kitchen. The Georgetown location (1078 Wisconsin Ave. NW) opened in November 2011 and is situ- ated in a historic two-story brick building. Features include exposed brick throughout and, in the second-floor dining room, waiter ser- vice, a French window, and a prism-like skylight. At each Paul, you'll find daily fresh-baked breads, savories (including sandwiches prepared on baguettes made on-site) and traditional and refined sweets, classified as viennoisserie and patis- serie. The 13 buttery viennoisserie include the familiar—croissants, palmiers and beignets—and the unusual, such as cramiques, brioche pastries with pearl sugar. The 20 patisserie encompass traditional favorites, such as trendy macarons, mousse au chocolat and seasonal fruit tarts. Lavazza coffee, private-label teas and wines by the glass or bottle complement the fare. Sticky Fingers Sweets & Eats: Undercover Vegan Desserts Sticky Fingers Sweets & Eats began with founder-owner Doron Petersan's craving for vegan desserts. Petersan, who's been vegan since 1995 and earned her degree in dietetics, relied on her food- science knowledge to develop a line of better-than-traditional dairy- and egg-free sweets. She opened her first bakery in the Adams (continued on p. 177) PHOTO: PAUL