They've got cupcakes with peanut butter. They've got cupcakes with bacon. They can even make a cupcake with Jamaican Rum.
Sugar on Top, opening next month, can fill any of State College's cupcake needs.
Starting in February, the smells of banana split, raspberry lemonade and even pancake and bacon cupcakes will waft through 121 1/2 E. Beaver Ave.
Storeowner Shaunda Lohse, of Boalsburg, and her personal assistant Stephanie Lawton, of Boalsburg, thought State College needed a cupcake shop.
"Cupcakes are good for you," Lohse said. "You can do so many things with them. They put a smile on your face. Your blood pressure goes down. Students said it makes you happy. It reminds you of home."
The price of happiness is $1.50 for a mini-cupcake -- dubbed "cupcakies" -- and $10 for a dozen of them. "Oh MyMy" regular-sized cupcakes are $2.50 each and $20 for a dozen. "Jumboness" cupcakes are $3.50 each and $28 for a dozen.
Cupcakes will not be the only treat on the menu. Triple fudge brownies, fruit bars and dipped pretzel rods will also be available. Vegan, create-your-own and chocolate-lovers lines of cupcakes will be coming soon, she said. Lohse said she welcomes any opportunity to make something new.
The idea for a cupcake shop originated when Lohse's sister commented to her about an overpriced cupcake that was not worth the money. She suggested that her sister, who liked cooking, try baking cupcakes. Lohse baked a batch and thought they tasted good, so she asked the graduate student who lived near her to try them. He asked how much they were and immediately bought the rest of the batch.
Even though the store is not open, orders have already started. In August, two orders were received. In September, only four. But in October, four orders a week were received.
"As far as the shop goes, I can see it going statewide, nationwide, international," Lawton said. "The flavors just come to [Lohse]."
One of the reasons Lawton thinks the shop will be a success is because she thinks everyone will relate to it in some way.
"[The shop] is going to be very much Shaunda," Lawton said. "It's her personality. It's her quirkiness. It fits her. It fits me, too. This is her shop. It describes her. You're going to go in and find a nook that suits you."
