For all you dessert enthusiasts out there anticipating the next sweets shop to open up in Carytown, the time is almost here!  Among a bevy of bakeries, sweets and confectionery shops, Carytown will be adding to its list of sweets shops a bigger location for Carytown Cupcakes and a new dining spot for French cuisine: Carytown Creperie.

Carytown Cupakes, a Richmond tradition known for its decadent desserts, is opening its new location at 3111 West Cary Street, across from Can Can Brasserie.  A grand opening date for the new location is still up in the air, but owners Dawn & Albert Schick promise the new and improved cupcake boutique is coming soon with even better cupcake concoctions. (Meanwhile, the old location at 2820 West Cary Street is still open!)

After the big move, the former cupcake shop will be magically transformed into Carytown Creperie, a new crepe shop featuring the traditional French-inspired cuisine with a twist: fast, take-away crepes for on-the-go dining.

When Carytown Cupcakes does re-open, the confectionery plans to feature all of the same delicious, theme-based cupcakes (including fruit, citrus and Italian dessert-themed), as well as allow more room for visitors to mingle, taste and ogle over over the delicious treats.

In a recent conversation with Owner Albert Schick, Albert said about the cupcake-concocting process:

That’s best left to my wife.  I’m just the handy, trusty pan washer.  My wife, Dawn meets with the staff weekly to brainstorms the next cupcake theme concoction to be featured that week.  Last week was fruit-themed cupcakes.  This week is citrus-themed, like pineapple, grapefruit, orange, etc.  And, let’s see…coming up in June, we’re featuring Italian dessert-themed concoctions!

As for how Carytown Cupcakes got started, Schick says its all thanks to his wife’s passion for food.  Dawn was a Richmond school teacher for many years, but the wear and tear of teaching turned her attention the food service industry.  She instantly fell in love with preparing baked foods for customers and began adopting ideas from boutique shops she saw in NYC. Pursuing her dream to own one herself, she opened her own in Carytown in October 2009.

Despite the local cupcake craze – Pearl’s Cupcake Shoppe (Grove Ave.), Babycakes Cupcake (Carytown), Two Sweet and Frostings (both in Short Pump), Sally Bell’s Kitchen (W. Grace St.), and Jean-Jacques Bakery (Carytown) – Carytown Cupcakes still proves to be original in its cupcake-making.

Check out their Website or Facebook, where cupcake lovers can win a free cupcake.  All you have to do is add Carytown Cupcakes as a friend and watch out for the secret phrases posted on the wall.  The next time you come in, just repeat this secret phrase and your cupcake is free!

Still think it’s too good to be true?  We thought so too…until we saw this video, filmed by the staff themselves, on the legend behind the famous $2.75 cupcake. Our mouths are still watering.  

But, enough with cupcakes, let’s talk French cuisine which is surprisingly few and far between in Richmond but will be gaining momentum come June, with the opening of a new crepe shop: Carytown Creperie.

Owner Jim Szilaygi says his idea for starting a crepe shop dates back to his Hungarian roots, when he used to make pancake-like dishes called “palascinta” at family dinners and holiday celebrations.

“It was always a family joke to open up a crepe shop, but after I visited other cities I saw how popular crepe shops were. So, I figured if there’s any place that would work to have restaurant like this, it’s Carytown.

The quick-service, take-away crepe restaurant plans to feature thin, pancake-like crepes with a variety of ingredients – cheeses, meats and veggies as well as sweet seasonal fruit things like strawberries, nutella and peaches – fresh and on-the-go.

As building construction is underway, a website and Facebook page are also coming soon.

Nathan Hughes with Bandazian & Holden represented Carytown Cupcakes in leasing their new space at 3111 West Cary Street, and in sub-leasing their old space at 2820-C West Cary Street.