'Hey Cupcake!' Brings Crowley Back to Downtown

It's hard to miss the pink and brown lettering above the new "Hey Cupcake!" on Waverly Place, and even harder to resist going in to take a look around.

But one look around is all it takes to become enchanted with the Wonka-esque quality of proprietor Bridget Crowley's cupcake shop. The air smells of baked goods and the wide variety of cupcakes, as well as cookies, cinnamon rolls and brownies, found in the display cases is sure to have something to appeal to every pallet. Though there are no tables or chairs inside (yet—Crowley intends to apply to the Borough for some soon), there is a large, comfortable window seat inside the store and a bench on the sidewalk outside, which Crowley's husband gave to her as a gift when the store opened on May 14.

The cupcake store may be new, but Crowley is no stranger to the Madison business community. She opened The Rocking Horse in 1989 and ran it for seventeen years before selling it to be a stay-at-home mom. When it was time to go back to work, Crowley said opening her own business in her hometown of Madison was more appealing than getting on a train to work in New York every day.

"It's what I know," Crowley said. "I know what it takes to open up your own small business, and I know the business community in Madison. A lot of people have come by since we opened to welcome me back."

Crowley and her staff ("I think I hired all of Madison High School," she jokes) work together as they learn through trial-and-error how many cupcakes to bake each day and which flavors people enjoy the most. Baking cupcakes makes it easier to try things in small batches. "I like to experiment with flavors, and with cupcakes you can do that without making a big commitment in whole cakes," she said.

Everyone who works at the store "gives input as to things they like and we put it together as a flavor," adding to the originality of some of the flavors that can be found. One idea that turned into a popular cupcake came from Crowley's daughter Catherine.

"She went next door to Poor Herbie's to get coffee, and she asked if she could have a Shirley Temple," Crowley said. "I thought, maybe we could make that into a cupcake."

The Specialty Shirley Temple cupcake was only offered for one day, but Crowley said people still come in asking for it.

The Specialty cupcake menu changes daily, but there are a few that can be relied upon every day, such as the Reese's Pieces, the M&M, and the Mint Chocolate Chip. Other Specialty flavors include Red Velvet, Carrot Cake, S'Mores. There's also Cookies and Cream, piled ridiculously high with Oreo cookies on top; Strawberry Short Cake, with strawberry filling inside and tasting exactly like the dessert for which it is named; Pink Lemonade, a cupcake just as refreshing as it sounds; and the Hostess cupcake, which has a marshmallow filling and topping, covered with a chocolate ganache and topped with curlicues in vanilla icing.

Also offered daily are the Traditional cupcakes, which come in various cake/cream/topping combinations of vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry; and Birthday Cake, which has rainbow sprinkles baked inside and sprinkled on top.

And for those looking for even less of a "commitment" than a whole cupcake, Mini cupcakes (about a third the size of a regular cupcake) are offered in a variety of the daily flavors.

Hey Cupcake is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday and is located at 7 Waverly Pl.