Dozen Cupcakes Final Bake Sale: Closed for Good

Dozen Bake Shop's Final Bake Sale

It was a sad day for Pittsburgh as Dozen Bake Shop hosted their final bake sale this morning in Lawrenceville. The bakery that was once voted having the “Best Cupcakes” by our readers has closed their doors for good.

Whether you voted for them in that poll or not, it cannot be denied that Dozen was a great asset to Pittsburgh. They brought the cupcake trend to the Burgh, but more importantly, they expanded beyond cupcakes and explored ways to run a locally-sustainable business that conscious foodies could enjoy. They came up with fresh new menus, sourced local/organic/animal-free ingredients, and even opened on Mondays! Before Dozen came to town it was impossible to get a cupcake on a Monday. What will Pittsburgh do without their vegan sweets and Elvis cupcakes?

The closure was a big surprise to Boring Pittsburgh and we had to find out why they made the decision to shut their ovens off. First let’s look at a timeline of some random events leading up to this day:
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Dozen Bake Shop Arrives in Oakland

Dozen Bakes Shop Grand Opening in Oakland

If the long lines snaking along Craig Street and Forbes Avenue this week are any indication, Oakland is ready for a regular cupcake fix. After giving away free cupcakes all week (and turning Craig Street into Baskin Robbins on 39-cent scoop night), the newest location of Dozen Cupcakes officially opened for business at 11:00 today. Trombone music and free cupcakes—party in Oakland!

Dozen’s owner James Gray (Andrew Twigg is the other one) is obviously psyched about his new location, which was last home to a beauty shop. He says he’d been hoping to move into Craig Street for a while, and then one day he was making a delivery to Squirrel Hill and was thrilled to finally see a for-rent sign. A couple days later, the 500-square foot space was his.
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CoCo’s Cupcake Cafe Closed

CoCo's Cupcake Cafe in Shadyside is Closed (flickred by Rrrrred)

A long time ago, the loyal subscribers of Boring Pittsburgh decided that they preferred other cupcakes over the ones baked at CoCo’s. Not only did Dozen beat CoCo’s, but we were shocked when a bakery that wasn’t listed on the poll (Vanilla Pastry Studio) also beat them.

Our readers predicted the fate of CoCo’s Cupcake Cafe. The place closed their doors for good on June 27th.
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Hey Oakland: Are You Ready For Dozen?

Dozen Cupcakes opens a shop on South Craig Street in Oakland

Dozen Cupcakes is opening a shop on S. Craig St. in Oakland

The rumor about frozen yogurt going to South Craig Street has been cleared up. Dozen Cupcakes has come out of the closet and announced they are the new business moving in next to Starbucks! But don’t worry, there’s still Sweet Berry in Oakland, which serves some of the best all natural frozen yogurt you’ll ever taste.

Hey Oakland: are you ready for desert?

This actually makes more sense. The size of the space would have been much too small for fro-yo, even if it were self-serve. Dozen Bake Shop is already experienced running successful operations out of small locations (Squirrel Hill for example). They are going to do some great business on Craig Street. Imagine grabbing a cupcake and heading over to Starbucks or Kiva Han for a coffee (although Dozen will probably sell coffee as well, so that’s a third choice for caffeine).
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Johnny Cupcakes Suitcase Tour @ Dozen

The Johnny Cupcakes Suitcase Tour is making a stop in Pittsburgh next week. On Tuesday, May 4th, Johnny will driving the CupcakeMobile from Columbus to the Burgh. The event will be at Dozen Bake Shop in Lawrenceville, starting at 7:00pm.
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Cupcakes Are the New Black

Cupcakes Are the New Black shirt in Toys-r-Us

Just an hour or so after my conversation with Andrew Twigg, co-owner of Pittsburgh’s five-store Dozen Bake Shop chain, I was in Toys-r-Us, never mind why. I walked past a display notifying me that “Cupcakes are the New Black”. Funny thing is, I had already become convinced of this after meeting Andrew at his “flagship store” (his word) in Lawrenceville.
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