The line at the new Sprinkles in Highland Village is out the door, actual drive-by reporter Miya Shay informs us. This is how they intend to draw $25,000 in opening-day sales. Well, that and Rockets forward Shane Battier doing a little lunchtime counter duty. How fast is he serving, really? To the left: Paper Source, scheduled to open next month.
- Official Opening of Sprinkles [Twitter]
- Previously on Swamplot: Highland Village Sprinkles
Photo: Miya Shay
Ahh, What rich yuppies will do for an overpriced cupcake, while in this heat nonetheless!
In the good old days of H-town, any place with “cupcakes” or “sprinkles” in its name would have been a strip club. This cupcake fetish stuff reminds me of an older neighbor who bought thousands of dollars worth of Beanie Babies as a safe investment. “You don’t understand, they only made 2000 of these!”
I got to attend the Saturday preview and sample several different kinds of their cupcakes. They’re quite good, but I’m still not convinced they’re $3.75 worth of good! (and the line Saturday wasn’t quite that long, but it still made for a half hour in the Houston sun waiting to get in!)
$3.75?!! damn, that’s just silly.
What is it about cupcakes that inspire this sort of behavior? is it some sort of memory of happy times when calories didn’t count – when there was perfect equality between fellow brats at birthday parties – nobody had to settle for an inside piece of cake?
I work in Highland Village and the folks at Sprinkles were kind of enough to give us a dozen cupcakes as a marketing gesture. We loved them! People will pay $3.75 for a beer
so why not for a cupcake? Everyone gets their high in a different way!
well, it is a high rent district so anything that moves in there has to be overpriced.
my interest is piqued regarding a $3.75 cupcake though. if that’s the price for one, how big are they?
all i can think is that that cost more than a 1/2 gallon of blue bell on sale so i’m certainly not the target market for these folks.
$3.75?!! damn, that’s just silly.
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Ah. But it’s chi-chi………
From Matt Mystery:
$3.75?!! damn, that’s just silly.
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Ah. But it’s chi-chi………
From joel:
well, it is a high rent district so anything that moves in there has to be overpriced.
From Eddie:
Ahh, What rich yuppies will do for an overpriced cupcake,
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Lot of insecure people posting. What’s silly or chi-chi about $3.75 for a cupcake. A single beer costs more; most coffee drinks costs as much, a single gallon of gas has often costs as much. A Marble Slab cone, or a slice of any dessert at just about any restaurant costs more. Hell, a Coke (mostly sugared water) costs $2 most everywhere.
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Why do so many people feel the need to denigrate others for the way they choose to spend their own money? Grow up.
Joel asked how big they are — normal cupcake size. I’ll say that the frosting was excellent and the frosting to cake ratio was spot on. Plus they have some cool and unusual flavors and the ingredients are high quality. BUT my go-to comparison dessert for cake is The Chocolate Bar, and for bang for my buck, my money goes to TCB. If I discovered I really loved one of the flavors that only Sprinkles carries, it would be worth it to pay $3.75 to hit that specific craving, but for vanilla or chocolate, I’d put the price point a little lower, $3 or $3.25. IMHO.
I’m not insecure and not stupid. I just don’t understand the irrelevant comparison between the price of a cupcake and the price of a beer, coffee, an ice cream cone, or a gallon of gasoline unless you’re making the point that they’re all overpriced. Each cupcake costs approximately 32 CENTS TO PRODUCE! The overhead brings the TOTAL PRICE FOR EACH CUPCAKE TO 58 CENTS. I know this for a fact because I worked at Sprinkles in Beverly Hills.
Schwaghag,
32 cents to produce? Did you work for free? Was the rent in BH free? What does the costs of production have to do with the retail price of anything anyway?
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A $2 Coke costs about 5 cents to produce, yet 100’s of millions are sold daily. The price of any successful thing is determined by what the market will bear, which is why people will pay $8 for a single beer at a concert or game, but expect a six-pack for that price at the grocery. You’re paying for more than the costs of ingredients.
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Sprinkles (which I don’t like by the way, I prefer Crave or the Cupcake Cafe) is apparently not a penny over-priced for the market as evidenced by long lines of people waiting to buy the product.
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The last time we were in BH, the line for Sprinkles was so long, we passed. Seems like they are priced just right – for the owners to make lots of money. What’s wrong with that?
This reminds me of my relatives that are in their 70s and 80s. You know how they say a cup of coffee should never cost more than a nickel? That’s how we wound up with cans of crappy Folgers and peculators.
Seems like they are priced just right – for the owners to make lots of money.
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No argument from me on that. The basis of capitalism is to make money. Lots of it. Usually off chi-chi people who think paying $3.75 for a cupcake makes them special. Now if it were a La Mousse cupcake, I might pay $13.75. But that’s because I LOVE La Mousse. One of the few things I miss about Los Angeles.
Hey, if they can sell cupcakes for $3.75 – more power to them!
If people want to buy $3.75 cupcakes? Awesome. Someone gets to make some money for a while. It’s not like they cone’d off the cheap cupcakes and make you stare at them while they force you to buy the expensive ones *grin*
I’m mostly curious how long the cupcake trend will last and if it will morph into something more uniquely Houston. Wake me when someone breaks out with a white corn cupcake stuffed with fajitas and topped with a jalapeno, cilantro, and sour cream “icing”. Of course, sausage kolache cupcakes, lamb vindaloo cupcakes, gyro cupcakes, and massaman curry cupcakes will be needed, at a minimum.
To Matt Misery:
One of the things I miss about Los
Angeles is that you don’t live there.
Right on, wilf!
And is it just me, or does Matt Mystery have some serious issues?
Drove past there yesterday on the way to lunch, and was perplexed at the line. I’d totally forgotten that Sprinkles was coming to town.
were they giving the cupcakes away or did people actually stand in line to pay for them?
This time, I have to agree with John. The smaller the cost of an item the larger the profit margin needs to be to make it a profitable undertaking. And if they are good, why not? I pay that much for a good Chocolate eclair, which very few places in Houston have (good ones). So why not a good cupcake?
If it’s not your CUP of tea, let them eat CAKE in peace.
If I want awesome cupcakes, I’ll just make them myself. :)
I wonder if the people complaining about the prices are likely enjoying a Starbucks right now or sipping a Cick’Fil’A lemonade? Kind of a sham though kids really like cupcakes, and at roughly $4 a pop that’s a pretty pricey treat, but I’m not worried you won’t catch me eating fousfous cupcakes any time soon..
And is it just me, or does Matt Mystery have some serious issues?
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Only with you and Melanie…
Matt Misery:
Don’t forget all your your narcissism, pessimism and troglodytism not to mention your obsessive/compulsiveness. Nighty night
Bozo.
I’d say it’s a good sign for our local economy that there are people who think a $3+ cupcake is a deal.
Now hopefully Crave isn’t a ghost town…
Sheeple.
Melanie you will make a perfect wannabe. If you ever decide what it is you wannabe.
Well if I wanted to be your psychotherapist. Matt Misery, I suppose I would make enough money off you to valet park every time I wanted am expensive cupcake. After all, Tony’s doesn’t serve them.
@ EMME – where are the good chocolate eclairs? I’d much rather have those (or an authentic Napoleon) than a cupcake! Enlighten me, please.
Flake, Try Croissant Brioche in Rice Village.
Melanie you take me too seriously. Probably because you take yourself too seriously.
Apart from the “political” side of real estate discussions on Swamplot I am merely having some fun poking some fun at some who, well, deserve to have fun poked at them.
Everyone has their own guilty pleasures, it’s really not about cost!