By B.C. Manion
Ice cream trucks have been making the rounds for decades, but now a new business in Lutz is trying to break into the mobile sweets market.
Unforgettable Cupcakes & More, an online company that specializes in gourmet cupcakes, dipped pretzel rods and marshmallow pops, recently launched a new line of business – a cupcake van.
The van makes the rounds of various events, with a regular Saturday stop at the Land O’ Lakes Recreation Complex on Collier Parkway.
The company’s founder, Shirley Quinones, believes she has the only cupcake truck in the area.
And now she’s planning another twist she thinks would be a first for the market: A cupcake bar.
The concept for the cupcake bar is similar to the approach at ice cream shops where people choose their own toppings for sundaes. In this case, they’d be selecting toppings for cupcakes.
When Quinones launched her company about 15 months ago, she was looking for something she could do for herself after spending years devoting her full-time energy to her family.
Her daughters, Victoria, 12 and Karmelyna, 11, are now in middle school at Villa Madonna. Her husband, Juan, is an architect.
So, with the encouragement of her sister, Leslyann Acosta, Quinones turned her love of baking into the foundation for Unforgettable Cupcakes & More, an online gourmet treats business.
Quinones, like many entrepreneurs, enlisted the aid of everyone in her family to make the company a success.
Her husband, parents, sister, brother-in-law and kids helped transform an old ice cream truck into “Dottie the Unforgetabus,” a moniker submitted by the winner of an online contest sponsored by the cupcake company.
Quinones’ husband and her dad, Lester Santos, work the cupcake truck on Saturdays at the recreation complex. Her sister created the company’s website and took all the photographs. Her children help her come up with new flavors and names for the cupcakes. And relatives, friends and colleagues are the taste-testers, offering feedback Quinones uses to tweak recipes.
There’s no shortage of creativity in this crowd.
They’ve come up with more than 20 flavors, with selections including Wedding Bliss, Vanilla Dulce, Chocolate Amore, Razzle Dazzle, Ruby Red Velvet, Coco-loco, Pineapple Paradise, Cinnamon Crunch, Peanut Butter Dynamite, S’mores and Chiquita Split.
Big hits so far include Peanut Butter Dynamite, S’Mores and Coco-loco, which is either a vanilla or chocolate cupcake with coconut frosting.
Baking offers the Lutz woman a form of therapy and her business provides an outlet for personal expression.
“It’s fun to create new things and different things,” Quinones said.
She makes everything from scratch in small batches, to ensure freshness and customizes her small cakes with homemade frostings. She offers a wide selection of cakes and toppings, providing patrons with an array of choices.
She handles the baking chores at her home, or at a commercial kitchen in Town ‘N Country – depending on the size of the order.
Quinones has learned a lot about purchasing, pricing and marketing her business. One of the biggest challenges she’s had so for far is learning how to be more outgoing in promoting her business.
“I’m more of a behind-the-scenes kind of a person. I don’t like attention,” she said.
The online company accepts orders and offers delivery in several areas in Hillsborough and Pasco counties, including Cheval, Lake Magdalene, Land O’ Lakes, Lutz, Keystone, Odessa and Wesley Chapel. A standard mileage charge applies for areas outside the free delivery zone.
To learn more, visit http://unforgettablecupcakes.net/, email or call (813) 403-7280.
