Tipsy Cupcake

Any day is more special with a cupcake, don't you agree? And here it is Christmas, and the Tipsy Cupcake in Billings is helping folks celebrate in a very sweet way.

Kari Jones, the cupcake queen who owns the Tipsy Cupcake shop and makes all the delicious treats for sale there, told me, "We hope to bless people with a little treat every day."

The cupcakes are fresh each morning and come in an imaginative variety of flavors, which vary from day to day. Above, sporting the Merry Christmas tag, is Salted Caramel (delicious). Below, you see it along with (starting at the upper right) Lemonhead, Chocolate on White, and Black Tie (all equally delicious).

So if the cupcakes are fresh each day, what happens to leftovers each night? Sure, folks come in all day to buy goodies and to snack before and after the movies next door, but inevitably there will be a few cakes lingering when the doors finally close.

Kari told me that she donates extras to (and sometime makes special batches for) area nursing homes, schools, youth groups, and the women's and children's shelter. She also caters weddings and other events and supplies corporate gifts for area businesses.

"We're all about love here," Kari admitted. Oh, yeah, that's easy to believe. You can feel the love just by looking around the cozy shop.

Repeat customers are common, and Kari enjoys thinking about each one. One man comes in from Miles City to buy bribes for his kids. An elderly couple buys several to freeze and thaw out over the coming week for evening snacks. (I can personally assure you the cupcakes freeze well.) Others drive in from faraway places like Great Falls and Wyoming. Not just to buy cupcakes, of course. But then, maybe they do . . .

Kari emphasizes that this business is "homegrown" and not a franchise. It's her very own creation, made small batch by small batch.

"It's a lot of work, but fun," Kari assured me.

And I believe her. The atmosphere is warm and friendly. Everyone who enters the shop comes in smiling with anticipation. What flavor will they choose? The shop's Signature Pink Champagne? English Toffee Crunch? Wedding Cake? Root Beer Float? Peppermint Mocha?

Or perhaps a milkshake made from a cupcake crumbled into ice cream?

The gals behind the counter feel they are part of a blissful experience and find no trouble in following Kari's philosophy that they treat a customer as if they are welcoming a guest to their home.

After all, isn't a cupcake what makes a home a happy one?

Have a cupcake . . . perhaps Orange Creamsicle?

 Tipsy Cupcake

1001 Shiloh Crossing Blvd., Suite 7 

(next to Shiloh 14 movie theater)

Billings

(406) 656-5666