What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/1191856
December 15-21, 2019 What's up! 43 All of the franchisees have the same recipes but the individual stores get to choose which ones they want to make every day. All of the Gigi's franchises get their supplies and ingredients from the same companies so there is consistency in the quality. If you order the Vanilla Wedding Cake item at Donna and Charlie's Bentonville location it will be the same cupcake you would get at the flagship Gigi's store in Nashville or anywhere else. A lot of the ingredients are proprietary and special only to Gigi's. Gigi's corporate is very selective in choosing their franchise owners and the locations, too. The Bentonville store is one of only two locations in Arkansas because the company does not like to overpopulate an area with stores. Gigi Butler was the creator of Gigi's cupcakes and her story is as unique as her recipes. Gigi was born in Oklahoma and raised in California. At 15 years old she started a cleaning company, determined to have something of her own. Gigi's real dream was to become a singer/songwriter so she put a band together and began doing her own shows and making demo tapes. In 1994, she sold her cleaning business, and with all her bills paid and $500 cash in hand, moved to Nashville. After a fateful phone call from Gigi's brother Steve, her life was altered and Gigi's Cupcakes was born. While today she no longer owns the company, she is still the proprietor of the original store in Nashville. When Donna comes in every morning, she has over 300 recipes from the Gigi's recipe collection to choose from. All are original and unique to Gigi's. "Every day we bake up about 23 or 24 different varieties for our customers to select from," Donna said. "We also change seasonally, featuring two varieties each quarter to reflect the season. We just came off our Fall specialties of White Pumpkin and S'mores. Now we are featuring Winterberry and Tiramisu. Come Spring, we'll rotate those out again with two new ones." "We have our core recipes we like to stay with all the time, our vanilla—called Wedding Cake, our chocolate—called Midnight Magic, and our strawberry, which is called Strawberry Shortcake," Donna said. "And of course, the ingredients are all fresh. Our Strawberry Shortcake, for instance has real strawberries in both the cake and the frosting." The Bentonville Gigi's location also features four varieties that have alcohol content, in the cake and the frosting. They also just started doing vegan recipes that they are going to have available every Saturday. In addition, they have a selection of gluten-free options. And Gigi's has more products beyond the cupcakes. "We also have our own stuffed cookies and homemade brownies that are gooey, chewy and simply fabulous," Donna said. And what might be the most exciting thing of all, any one of their cupcake recipes can be made into a cake. "So for birthdays or other events, if you have a favorite cupcake we can turn it into a 6, 8, 10 or 12 inch cake," Donna said. "Not everyone knows that but they sure get excited when they hear that they can create a whole cake out of their favorite Gigi's cupcake." And is there a favorite cupcake in Northwest Arkansas? "It is really interesting because it changes week to week," Donna said. "One week our Wedding Cake cupcake is flying off the shelf and the next it could be something else. It kind of rotates. All we know is we haven't found one yet that people don't like." Lastly, we asked Donna if, besides the original recipes, there was a secret to making a great cupcake. "My girls always say we make them with love and that's why they are so special," Donna said. "And I agree. It's a lot of work to come in every day and make up new batches from scratch. Create every single cupcake by hand every day. You have to really love what you are doing. And we most definitely do. And that is our real secret to success." Questions about this or other dining features? Contact Karen Rice at 479-571-6474 or krice@NWADG.com Gigi's Cupcakes of Bentonville LOCATION: 3410 SE J St Suite 2, Bentonville PhONe: (479) 268-3369 hOURS: Sunday: 11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Monday-Saturday: 10:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. ONLINe: facebook.com/gigisbentonville/