The Only Things That Will Save the City's Economy Are Cupcakes
The New York job market shrank in June, but the overall unemployment rate's been improving thanks to the city's bar and restaurant industries. Where's the growth coming from? You can credit cupcake bakeries, reports the WSJ. Thanks, Carrie Bradshaw.
It seems the only food-related businesses that are creating new jobs are the places that whip up pint-sized confections for the city's drooling hordes. Barbara Byrne Denham, a fancy economist (and closet sweets junkie) at real-estate firm Eastern Consolidated noted this phenomenon in a report, saying, "One segment of the industry that seems to be adding the most outlets is cupcake cafes. This could be a fad, or not." She went on to add that Magnolia's cupcakes suck because the cake is dry, and the over-abundant frosting is too solid. OK, she didn't say that—I did—but I thought you might actually believe it if it came from some smart lady rather than me.
The boom seems to be benefiting both small neighborhood bakeries and big chains like hometown heroes CRUMBS (not bad, but a little too big) and West Coast import Sprinkles Cupcakes (ew, no thanks). The conventional wisdom is that in "this economy," people are willing to treat themselves to a $3 extravagance because they can't afford a $26 million dollar house in the Hamptons or, you know, to just pay their rent. At least we'll all have a little sugar buzz to get over being evicted!
