Molly’s Cupcakes brings award-winning flavors to downtown Ann Arbor

ANN ARBOR, MI – A popular specialty cupcake shop founded in Chicago has found its way to Michigan.

Molly's Cupcakes opened on East Liberty Street in Ann Arbor in July 2024, bringing a rotating variety of cupcakes to the doorstep of the University of Michigan campus. Ann Arbor is the 15th location, and the first in Michigan, in the chain opened by founder John Nicolaides in 2007.

When Nicolaides branched out of advertising to open the fist Molly's Cupcakes in Chicago's Lincoln Park, his goal was to create a place for young people to gather outside the neighborhood bar scene. Years later, he still owns locations in Chicago, New York and Ann Arbor and franchises others in Iowa, Ohio and Nashville, Tennessee.

READ MORE: New business offers sweet treats and hang-out spot in downtown Ann Arbor

The bakery chain is named after Nicolaides' third grade teacher Miss Molly, who would bake cupcakes for her students on their birthdays. The Ann Arbor location's interior draws from that schoolhouse motif, with seating inspired by school desks and chalkboards on the walls featuring a "Periodic Table of Cupcake Elements."

The bakery eventually became nationally recognized for both specialty flavors and classics like a Red Velvet cupcake that was voted best in Chicago. The chain was also voted Best Cupcake in New York City by the Village Voice and even finished at the top spot on the Food Network series "Cupcake Wars."

Molly's Cupcakes offers signature filled cupcakes that feature a variety of flavors piped into the center of each pastry. Popular center-filled options available at every location include the Boston Cream, which imitates a Boston cream pie with its pastry cream filling and chocolate ganache on top, and Creme Brulee, which is filled with custard and topped with caramelized sugar and glazed berries.

Madalyn Denham, manager at the Ann Arbor location, said the Birthday Cake and Créme Bruleé center-filled cupcakes have been the store's most popular options, with seasonal options like S'mores and Tiramasu drawing in new customers for fall. Denham said the coffee-dipped Tiramisu is one of her favorites.

"It's honestly my favorite. It's got a whipped cream topping, then the whole cake itself is dipped into coffee," she said. "You might have to eat it with a spoon or a fork, but it's got a great coffee taste."

Denham said Molly's is already proving to be a popular hangout spot for students and older Ann Arborites, especially the later crowd. Guests will come in for a late-night coffee or sweet treat, to play board games or just to sit and chat at a low bar on swings that hang from the ceiling.

"We have games like Jenga and Uno," she said. "On a Friday night, we'll have some cool music playing and a bunch of students will be in here playing games and talking. It's kind of a fun environment."

Cookies, brownies, coffee, pies, cake pops and chocolate-covered Oreos are available, as well as custom cakes and catering orders. Each catering order is hand-decorated by a cake decorating specialist using house-made fondant. Denham said. the made-to-order pastries have already allowed for some creative fun, including classic car-themed cupcakes and a batch that was topped with fondant farm animals.

"The cupcakes are made every morning. The bakers come in late at night and leave really late in the morning – then the decorators come in every morning and decorate all of them." Denham said. "They're always fresh, and we're never going to be out of stock."

Molly's Cupcakes, 617 E Liberty St., is open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Learn more about it online or by phone at 734-800-4943.

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