The compact store that once housed Mrs. Fields Cookies at 7857 Girard Ave. is now home to a trendy lounge called Cups, which will sell an exhaustive selection of organic cupcakes, milk-on-tap and locally roasted coffee. Cups will also feature live music, a deejay and karaoke nights. Cups expects to open its doors this weekend. “It’ll be a big stop on Girard Avenue for people to come in and hang out,” said Todd Murphy, a designer from Santa Barbara who is the event planner and deejay for Cups. “There aren’t many coffee shops in La Jolla, other than the Living Room or Starbucks. We want to attract teenagers or anyone shopping who wants something fast.” Cups’ six pastry chefs have concocted 60 different varieties of cupcakes, ranging from a standard chocolate flourless cake to an elaborate vanilla-bean and maple syrup cupcake topped with maple butter cream and maple sugar-cured bacon, dubbed “Better with Bacon.” Gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan varieties are available. Fruit and agave syrup will sweeten some cupcakes for customers who want a lower glycemic index. While cupcakes have made a popular comeback, owner Michelle Ciccarelli Lerach of La Jolla decided she wanted to add something more wholesome to the mix, and so has garnered her ingredients from local, organic farms, allowing the season’s bounty to determine some of the cupcakes. The Berry Splash makes its debut in summer, Pumpkin Cardamom appears in the fall and winter presents the Blood Orange cupcake. Lerach purchases her flours from Giustos Organic Flours in San Francisco. She collects eggs from North County’s Chino Valley Farms, purchases her chocolate from San Luis Obispo’s Sweet Earth’s Organic and Callebaut and buys Organic Valley butter. Plastic utensils are nowhere to be found; instead, corn-based cutlery and cups are used. Cupcakes cost $4 apiece or $2 for the miniatures. To accompany the rich cupcakes, milk is sold “on tap,” served in reusable milk bottles from Straus Family Creamery, where the milk is produced. “Our produce is so creative, and it’s based on what the people want,” Murphy said. “Our menu is never set in stone.” Cups will cater its cupcakes to events, as well as host in-store parties and teaching classes. At the lounge, patrons can relax at the bar or sit outside and treat their canines to a dog-friendly cupcake. Lerach had been planning to open a restaurant for years, but upon realizing the enormity of the undertaking, scaled her vision down to a deli and then a coffee shop/patisserie until she finally zoned in on a single item: the cupcake. For information, call (858) 459-2877 or visit http://cupslj.com.
