Slashfood is reporting that Taco Bell is testing cupcakes in some of its markets, along with smoothies and shakes. Huh? I guess the smoothies and shakes don’t confuse me that much but cupcakes?!?
I guess I understand that one of these food mega giants would want to capitalize on the cupcake revolution that’s taking place and really bring the trend the masses but Taco Bell?!?
What do you think? Think cupcakes at Taco Bell is a good move?
Slate put out a really interesting article on Thursday about how we’ve seen a huge rise in cupcake shops across America’s metropolitan centers and that this is a bubble that we’re about to see burst.
In the article, he talks about how, while times are good, people will be able to afford these $3 sugary treats. As more and more people start getting hit by the recession, things like cupcake purchases will be the first things to go.
The stores that were in there from the beginning have been able to attract the audiences and reap the rewards of the revenue. Everyone else, who’s been just jumping on to the trend, will have a harder time of turning their store into a sustainable business.
This totally makes sense.
If I was thinking about starting a cupcake shop, I’d just want to make it more than just a cupcake shop. Here in Washington DC we have some interesting examples of this. Baked & Wired in Georgetown have made themselves into a real full service coffeeshop along with having AMAZING cupcakes. At Red Velvet in Chinatown, there is literally just a counter with cupcakes.
While a consuming a cupcake is more of an occasional expense, a cup of coffee is a regular part of my life. I’d much more easily see Baked & Wired becoming part of my life and I’d imagine being a more sustainable business.
Have you been to a cupcake place lately? How much did you pay?
The Wall Street Journal has an interesting piece about how some coffee shops are struggling with all the folks who just want to sit in the coffee shops and use the free wifi.
I understand that coffee shops need to make money and so they need to sell coffee. At the same time, there is obviously a desire for folks to be able to sit somewhere other then their homes, use the Web, meet their friends, and collaborate with their community. Why do the two goals have to be mutually exclusive?
How can we make this work? Is there a technological way to credit people with a certain amount of time for Web access based on the number of coffees they buy? Does this show the need for more co-working facilities need to proliferate there way more throughout America?
What are your thoughts?
In today’s Washington Post, they identify an interesting trend to which I can attest. Beer makers are starting to learn a thing or two from their counterparts within the wine industry.
The beer industry wants their product to be know for something other then crazy college parties. (Oh the memories of Genny Light and college.) They want beer to be something that a serious alcohol consumer would want to partake in.
If you go into a liquor or grocery store, in the beer aisle, you’ll see something that looks like wine bottles next to the endless rows of six packs. No it’s not wine. It’s beer.
Breweries are starting to put some of their more rare brews into 750 ml bottles and using a cork and wire cage on the top to hold everything in. The hope is that buyers will understand that it’s a higher end product.
So why has beer always had the image of a lower class product? The article traces it back to 1066…
Garrett Oliver, head brewer for Brooklyn Brewery, says that the way we view beer and wine reflects years of cultural baggage dating to 1066 and the Battle of Hastings. After the Norman Conquest, the blood-red wine of the conquerors became the quaff of nobility; the nut-brown ale of the defeated English became the drink of the common folk. But today, both beverages encompass a wide range of high- and low-end products.
Fascinating. This is something that I didn’t know.
I personally think this is great. Beer makers have something to offer. There are a lot of great beers out there. They need to do whatever they can to let folks know that it’s something worth paying attention to.
For example, I had this really great Dogfish Head Sah’tea a few weeks ago. It was like nothing I had had before.
What’s a new or different beer that you’ve had recently that wasn’t on draft at a bar or out of a six pack?
This morning, in The Atlantic, I found an article that discusses a very exciting trend. More and more restaurants in New York City amidst the economic downturn are allowing you to bring your own bottle of wine to their restaurants and waving the corkage fee.
There are 35 BYOB restaurants in New York City listed in the 2009 Zagat Guide. They tend to be small, ethnic and unambitious. And while there are a few upscale exceptions–Apiary and Tribecca Grill offer BYOB on Monday nights, and Alto has waived its $60 corkage fee until September, with a limit of one outside bottle per table–these restaurants are only making temporary concessions during a time of economic distress, doing what they can to lure budget-conscious diners.
I hope restaurants in Washington, DC will follow suit.