Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth

The Cupcake Corner is making a name for itself since its October grand opening in Garden City's West end.

The brainchild of John and Laura Graney, longtime residents of Garden City, this cafe - whimsically decorated in brown and pink polka dots and stripes - offers up more than its name suggests. It also caters to the local lunch crowd and serves as a meeting place for local organizations and as a unique venue for birthday parties.

"There was a real need in the area for a place like this," Laura Graney said. "A place to just grab a cup of coffee or a bite to eat." 

Forced to stand in a waiting area while her younger daughter finished up dance lessons on New Hyde Park Road is when the idea hit. Surrounded by local businesses, the railroad station, a church and an elementary school, 61 New Hyde Park Road made sense for the Graneys. 

With business management and advertising backgrounds, the duo, who are residents of the western section themselves, painstakingly devised a business plan for The Cupcake Corner so kids of all ages could indulge in some of the sweetest cupcakes around. 

Laura's daughter, Lisa Romero, along with her best friend, Lora Tusa, trained pastry chefs and graduates of the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City, are up to their ears in cupcake batter every day to keep only the freshest on the shelves.

The menu was a collective effort. Family, friends and neighbors gladly accepted the role of taste tester and thanks to their impeccable taste buds you'll find anything from Red Velvet cupcakes, the cafe's most popular, to Chocolate Peppermint, Chocolate Peanut Butter, Cheesecake, Chocolate Raspberry, Cotton Candy and Banana Joe, what's become the cafe's signature cupcake, with new flavors introduced weekly.

"We didn't think kids would want banana cupcakes but it turns out they do," Laura said.

Gluten-free products are also available, like the flourless chocolate cupcake and chocolate, vanilla, strawberry and coffee ice cream. Chefs Lisa and Lora are currently working on a vanilla version of the flourless cupcake.

Maria Murray, a registered dietician who works in the area, helped out with the gluten-free selections. "The menu is absolutely delicious," says Murray. 

The Graneys at first expected the morning rush to be their busiest time of day. But since their October grand opening, they've tweaked the hours to better cater to the later crowd, staying open until 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and until 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The cafe is also open Sunday from 9-3 p.m.

The 11 a.m. lunch break for teachers at nearby Saint Anne's School keeps The Cupcake Corner busy in the morning. Business picks up again at 2:30 p.m. when the school lets out. "But when 3:30 hits and all the kids around town are out of school, we're busy until closing," Laura said.

Sandwich wraps and quiche, croissants, danishes, cakes, waffles, pancakes, hot cocoa, coffee, tea and yogurt parfait are also on the menu and the cafe offers WiFi.

You can throw a party there too. "We've done two birthday parties so far and during the holiday season we hosted anywhere from eighteen to twenty gingerbread decorating parties," Laura said. "They were filling up so quickly, especially for the local Girl Scout troops."

Come January, the cafe's new website will launch, The Cupcake Corner will begin selling frozen six-packs of its popular cheesecake cupcake and classes for knitting and jewelry making will continue to be offered on Wednesdays not just to local moms but to teens and tweens as well.

The New Year will also focus on catering. "We're selling sheet cakes but you don't really know they're cupcakes until you pull them all apart," Laura said. "We also have those 'Box of Joe' containers so we can cater office meetings and extend our catering menu to the local restaurants," Laura said.

Lisa and Lora will also introduce a new cupcake flavor - champagne - to help ring in 2010. "I don't like champagne but they're good ... really good," Laura said.

February will obviously focus on Valentine's Day and come spring, cupcake lovers will have their chance to indulge outside when the cafe introduces alfresco dining until 9 p.m. weekdays and until 11 p.m. Saturdays.