Cupcake shop expands to downtown Elgin

Fans of cupcakes now have a go-to spot in downtown Elgin, where they are greeted by signs like “Eat cake for breakfast” and “Life is better with frosting” for that extra nudge to indulge.

Delish Cakes opened about two weeks ago at 213 E. Chicago St., the second such store owned by Alicia Eisenmann, who has a popular shop by the same name in Bloomingdale.

Why Elgin? Well, because social media told her so, said Eisenmann, who lives on the northeast side of town.

While deciding where to open her second location, Eisenmann explained, she posted on various Facebook community sites asking if people would welcome her store. Elgin gave her an overwhelming thumbs-up, she said.

“There were like 10 responses on the other sites, and Elgin had over 100 responses,” she said. “I found this space and it worked out perfectly.”

All the sweets sold in Elgin are baked at the Bloomingdale location. There are classic cupcake flavors — vanilla, chocolate, Oreo bliss, Reese's peanut butter and more — and seasonal choices such as pumpkin spice and cinnamon apples. There is also a special “Elgin E.A.T.S.” flavor, which stands for Extremely Amazing Tasty Snack, a chocolate cupcake filled with hot fudge and topped with caramel butter cream, hot fudge drizzle and a salted caramel piece.

How did she come up with that one? By asking for feedback on Facebook, of course.

The Elgin space held a hair salon that closed in late summer, landlord Andrew Cuming said. “It was empty for a little bit. I was working on a restaurant project that fell through, and then (Delish Cakes) came in,” he said. “I think she's going to be a great benefit to the downtown. It's an established business, and she knows what she's doing.”

Eisenmann, 28, grew up in Bloomingdale, where she opened her first store in 2012 after running her business out of her parents' house. She has a baking and pastry degree from Kendall College in Chicago and learned cake decorating on her own, she said.

Her stores also sell cakes made-to-order, including for weddings, plus cupcake pops, brownies, sugar cookies, Rice Krispies Treats and chocolate-dipped pretzels.

Her plans including holding children's classes at the Elgin store and outdoor events on its back patio, Eisenmann said.

“I prefer baking cupcakes because it's faster,” she said, “but I like decorating cakes more because is there more room to be creative.”