Out With The Old And In With The New (Cupcake Store)

Driving down 110 over the past few weeks, one can be forgiven if the absence of Sugar Cupcake Shoppe might not be immediately noticeable to those not paying attention. Or at least, that’s what Melissa Guillemette has found.

That’s because Guillemette has taken over where Sugar’s Kate Kelly has left off at the little nook between Nixon and South Chelmsford roads on Route 110 with another cupcake store, bringing a storefront to what was before her home-based Sweetpea’s Bakery.

“It’s a great opportunity, I had people stopping by all the time and I couldn’t accommodate that,” she says. “So now with a storefront, people can stop by and grab a cake whenever they’re in the mood.”

Replacing one cupcake store with another cupcake store can certainly have its advantages in terms of customer recognition, but the two bakers have indicated entirely different needs.

For Kelly, the move to Chelmsford came in large part because of a lack of a kitchen at what is now the new Sweetpea’s location. For Guillemette, that only means she can leave the mess at home.

And while Guillemette believes transporting larger cakes may become a problem, for the most part the location has everything she needs from the “Wedding Central” aspect of the building now holding a photographer, florist and bakery to what she sees as the coziness of the location.

“It’s a very ma and pa kind of place, I don’t want my business to grow so large that people don’t know who I am,” she said.

And while many may be put off by the increases in traffic from Cornerstone Square just down the street, for this business owner, that increased traffic is a bonus.

“The more people that go down 110, the more will see my sign and know I’m here. I don’t think that’s bad at all,” she said.

Coming soon, Guillemette hopes to expand into non-alcoholic drinks and put out patio seating.