Cupcake Cravings

Downtown Honolulu is about to get a whole lot sweeter, thanks to a new branch of Hokulani Bake Shop opening next week, on Nov. 2. The locally owned bakery has been whipping up goodies at its Restaurant Row location for four years. Now, owners Tushar and Ana Dubey will give us 9-to-5-ers a sugar rush at the new branch, on the ground floor of Pioneer Plaza (900 Fort Street Mall).

Hokulani makes decorated sugar cookies, and cupcakes, baked with the good (not fake) stuff, like butter and sugar. The most popular is the red velvet cupcake, says Tushar. Other favorites include the lilikoi and strawberry-guava flavors. He says there will be more than 10 flavors, from a roster of about 15 flavors, to choose from daily.

You can also order and pick up decorated cookies and cupcakes for special occasions at the new branch, which will be open Monday through Friday. Dubey says the hours are still a bit in flux, with 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. as a starting point. He wants to get a sense of just how early in the day people want their sugar fix. “There are crazy people who want cupcakes for breakfast,” he jokes.

Crazy? Sounds perfectly natural to me.