Cupcake heaven: New business specializes in baked treats

View larger image Black forest and pistachio cupcakes are among the treats available at Mel's Cupcakery, 30 S. Braddock St. in Winchester. Rich Cooley/Daily Mel's Cupcakery Located at 30 S. Braddock St. in Winchester. Hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. until cupcakes are sold out on Saturdays. For more information, visit melscupcakery.com or call 551-5140. Recommend This Print This Get E-mail News Alerts Buy Photos/Page Reprints * Breaking News If local news is breaking and you know about it: * Call Us: 800-296-5137 * E-mail Us * Upload Your Photos View larger image Melissa Garcia-Mariano, owner of Mel’s Cupcakery in Winchester, holds a black forest cupcake, which she says is a best-seller. Rich Cooley/Daily View larger image Pistachio and black forest cupcakes. Rich Cooley/Daily View larger image A coconut cream cupcake. Rich Cooley/Daily View larger image A close-up of the black forest. Rich Cooley/Daily

By Preston Knight -- pknight@nvdaily.com

WINCHESTER -- When the fate of your business relies somewhat on an open microphone-type philosophy, you must ready yourself for the unexpected.

Anything goes at Mel's Cupcakery, or, at minimum, anyone may suggest what can go on a particular week's menu. Owner Melissa Garcia-Mariano is unafraid to try her baker's hand at whatever idea comes her way. Variety is not only the spice of life, but the main ingredient to one of the city's most popular new businesses.

The cupcake shop, at 30 S. Braddock St., rotates its weekly offering, which is usually four flavors plus the mainstay black forest that has a cherry on top, and what customers have to choose from are normally treats that are the brainchild of another random sweet tooth who walks the same streets. That means, in addition to Garcia-Mariano's own preferences, in the month's time the store has been open, the list of cupcakes offered or in the making has included: pistachio, pineapple upside down cake, Guinness, key lime pie, zucchini, chocolate chip cookie dough, chocolate-covered strawberry and sweet pea/fresh mint. Each has its own filling, too.

To make someone long to return to a sanctuary of $2 cupcakes, Garcia-Mariano has realized the importance of changing things up and adding new elements. At the heart of each is one thing -- a moist, not-from-your-grocery-store treat.

"I'm officially addicted," said Mary Ways, a New Jersey resident who was in the area recently visiting her parents. "The size is perfect. The filling is scrumptious ... and cupcakes just make me smile."

Garcia-Mariano, 26, stresses that quality is more important than quantity, which means she demands perfection out of herself and the cupcakes coming out of her kitchen. Trial and error can lead to two or three different batches of a dozen or more cupcakes made before she feels she has gotten someone's suggested treat tasty enough to sell. The key is the moistness, and the way she unlocks that is her secret.

"I'm going to be 500 pounds next month," said her mother, Dawn Mariano, who helps at the store. "You go to Martin's or Food Lion, and they're dry. These are moist. They melt in your mouth, literally. ... If it's not up to her standards, she's not going to put it out."

Garcia-Mariano is just as excited about the fillings she can match with the cupcakes as she is the cake itself. For example, for a coconut creme cupcake, she had a coconut creme pie filling; for the cookie dough cupcake, actual cookie dough was on the inside; and on Valentine's Day, the chocolate truffle cupcake had a real truffle in the middle.
She makes cupcakes without fillings, but to maximize taste, and fun, she recommends those with them.

Garcia-Mariano bakes daily off site until the store's kitchen will be finished in the coming weeks. She said the store regularly sells out of its allotment on a given day, sometimes well before lunch hour. A recent high was 205 sold in a single day.

Pre-orders are taken, and recommended, especially if you're interested in six or more cupcakes. But Mel's gets its fair share of walk-ins, and the interactions with first-time buyers can really be what takes the cake.

Winchester resident Patricia Kim was a recent first-time customer, and was brimming with joy as she surveyed her options.

"Oh wow," she said. "I'm so excited."

Kim's first attempt at purchasing the cupcakes, the Friday before Valentine's Day, was a failure because the shop had sold out. She had better luck this time, and walked away with pistachio and key lime cupcakes.

"I love cupcakes," Kim said. "You don't have to buy a whole cake. You get to sample different flavors. I like to treat myself every once in a while."

To her "whole cake" point, Mariano said the cupcakes' size has been a disappointment to some men looking for more. They will soon get that, as Garcia-Mariano plans "giganto" Fridays, featuring larger versions of her cupcakes. She will also have sugar-free Tuesdays, gluten-free Wednesdays, vegan Thursdays and happy hour on Saturdays. Also in the pipeline are "pupcakes" for dogs.

Garcia-Mariano started dabbling in the kitchen at a young age, and at 11 surprised her parents with a menu for dinner one night featuring a made-from-scratch chocolate cake.
Born in Colorado, she bounced around as a "military brat," and has been in Winchester for only a year. Garcia-Mariano baked cakes on the side in recent years, and after six years as a finance manager, and the establishment of a family, she pursued her own business.

The long-term success of it just may be tied to her execution of customers' suggestions. To that, she is ready to have your (cup)cake and eat (sell) it, too.

"Cupcakes are fun. They're happy," Garcia-Mariano said. "They're a bite-sized luxury."

Mel's Cupcakery's current hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. until sold out on Saturdays. Visit www.melscupcakery.com or call 551-5140 for more information.