The cupcake bubble

To quote: These days, with a kitchen and a bit of ambition, you can start to make a name for yourself in Brooklyn. The borough has become an incubator for a culinary-minded generation whose idea of fun is learning how to make something delicious and finding a way to sell it.

These Brooklynites, most in their 20s and 30s, are hand-making pickles, cheeses and chocolates the way others form bands and artists’ collectives. They have a sense of community and an appreciation for traditional methods and flavors. They also share an aesthetic that’s equal parts 19th and 21st century, with a taste for bold graphics, salvaged wood and, for the men, scruffy beards.

I've been to some of the cupcake bakeries and they just seem to be all window dressing and no meat (to mix metaphors without referring to cake or icing). I think the author was getting at this: cupcakes are simple, so people try to add "features" to justify the price/attract customers.

The fine reporters over at Crain's notice there's something of a fro-yo trend in the city right now. Over 30 stores have opened in the past 20 months (with more on the way), pushing out the traditional ice cream standbys. But the experts say this fro-yo battle just isn't sustainable: "Everyone will do well through the summer and be able to sustain through the fall,' says Andrew Moger, president and chief executive of Branded Concept Development. 'But I'd be surprised if many of these places hold on for more than two years.

Fro-Yo Row a.k.a. 3rd Avenue between 22nd and 34th Streets....That 12 block stretch now has (or will soon have) a Pinkberry, a Red Mango, a Berrywild, a Flurt, and something called Yoqua Bar

PS - Apparently VCs have lavished tens of millions of dollars on Pinkberry and Red Mango http://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2009/04/23/investors-swe...