Magnolia Bakery

The Magnolia Bakery at 401 Bleecker Street

Magnolia Bakery is a chain of bakeries founded in New York City. The first location opened in 1996 at 401 Bleecker Street, on the corner of West 11th Street in the West Village neighborhood of Manhattan. The bakery is known for its desserts, especially its cupcakes.

The original Magnolia Bakery was opened in 1996 by Jennifer Appel and Allysa Torey. The bakery began making cupcakes with leftover cake batter, and the cupcakes subsequently became very popular with customers.[1] In 1999, co-owner Jennifer Appel left the business after a disagreement about expansion plans. Appel opened Buttercup Bake Shop in the Midtown East section of Manhattan.[2] In 2006, Allysa Torey sold Magnolia Bakery to a new owner, Steve Abrams, who now serves as the CEO of the company.[3]

The bakery is sometimes credited with helping to start a 1990s "cupcake craze".[4] Co-owners Jennifer Appel and Allysa Torey published a book in 1999 entitled The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook: Old-Fashioned Recipes from New York's Sweetest Bakery. The exterior of the original bakery, as well as its cupcakes, were featured in Lazy Sunday, a Saturday Night Live digital short broadcast in December 2005. The bakery was also featured on Sex and the City,[5] in the film Prime, in which one of the characters throws Magnolia pies at his ex-girlfriends, and in The Devil Wears Prada, in which the character Andy says at one point that she needs to get to the bakery to pick something up for her boyfriend. The sitcom Spin City also has Charlie Sheen's character bringing Magnolia Cupcakes to Heather Locklear's character. On October 16, 2008, Conan O'Brien bought a cupcake for each member of his audience during a taping of Late Night. It was also briefly mentioned in the third season of Veronica Mars, the title character affectionately mentioning a picture of her father "stuffing cupcakes in [his] face at Magnolia Bakery."

Magnolia Bakery has expanded from its original location with additional stores in the U.S. and the Middle East. In 2011, Magnolia Bakery CEO Steve Abrams stated that he had plans to open approximately three stores a year, and he added that he would work with franchisees to expand internationally.[6] The company's U.S. locations include stores in New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles.[7] Magnolia Bakery's first non-US store opened in Dubai in 2010.[8] Magnolia Bakery currently has a total of 11 international locations in the following cities: Beirut, Dubai, Kuwait City, Doha, Abu Dhabi, Moscow City, Tokyo and Mexico City.[9]

References

  1. ↑ Sternbergh, Adam (2005-09-19). "Sweet and Vicious". New York. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
  2. ↑ Moskin, Julia (11/3/2003). "Once Just a Cupcake, These Days a Swell". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 May 2014. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ↑ Resnick, Rosalind (1/10/2011). "Magnolia Bakery's Sweet Success". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 14 May 2014. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ↑ Harpaz, Beth J. (August 10, 2009). "New York City is still crazy for cupcakes". Usa today. Retrieved April 27, 2011.
  5. ↑ "The Real "Sex & the City" (about.com)". Gonyc.about.com. June 14, 2010. Retrieved April 27, 2011.
  6. ↑ Resnick, Rosalind (1/10/11). "Magnolia Bakery's Sweet Success". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 14 May 2014. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ↑ "Magnolia Bakery Company Website". Magnoliabakery.com. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Magnolia Bakery's First Overseas Location Opens In Dubai - NEW YORK, Feb. 1 /PRNewswire/". Prnewswire.com. 2013-01-02. Retrieved 2013-12-05.
  9. ↑ "magnoliabakery.com". Retrieved 2014-10-30.

External links

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Coordinates: 40°44′09″N 74°00′18″W / 40.7359°N 74.0050°W