Mouthwatering
Madness
by Benjamin Nunnally
Y
ou wouldn’t be wrong calling Mad
Hatter Cupcake Shop a bakery — the
Jacksonville shop bakes and decorates cupcakes by the dozens — but “bakery” doesn’t quite describe the trip you’ll
take down the rabbit-hole during a visit.
The shop is bright and colorful, with ribbons, candy, party supplies and orange soda
behind the counter, and silly, glittery threetiered cakes lining a shelf over a cozy sitting
area. A black and white checkerboard floor
offsets the lime green walls, and the red velvets, cherry toppings and pink frostings of
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the cupcakes give the impression you’ve just
tumbled into Wonderland.
“My husband asked, ‘Why don’t you call it
‘Carol’s Cakes,’ or ‘Cakes by Carol?’” said owner
Carol Watts. “I’m not a foo-foo person, that’s
not me at all.”
If the shop is a Wonderland tea party, Watts
fits right in as the Mad Hatter — funny, friendly, probably a bit nutty but even more lovable
because of it.
“She sings in the back the whole time,” said
Katelyn McGee, an employee at the shop.
July 2014
INSIGHT