Vancouver’s Fairy Cakes to open vegan, nut-free cupcake shop in March

After dealing with months of delays, the 35-year-old Burnaby resident has set the “spectacular opening” of Fairy Cakes (3586 Fraser Street), which is also a nut-free establishment, for March 10 and 11.

“I’m so ecstatic that things are moving forward and we can offer these cupcakes to people, where normally they feel deprived and they don’t have options out there,” Rivers told the Georgia Straight by phone from her home. “I’m excited to have a job that I love, I’m excited to provide a product that people really want, and I’m excited to meet the community and share this wonderful thing with the people around me.”

Located two doors down the street from Nice Shoes (3568 Fraser Street), the city’s only vegan footwear store, Fairy Cakes wasn’t able to start up in the fall due to a piping problem in the building. Now, the painting and drywall are done, and the electrician and plumber are expected to finish their jobs soon.

For its two-day grand opening, Fairy Cakes will be open from 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. The event will feature samples, sales, prizes, and contests.

The shop’s normal business hours will be between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. It will be closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Rivers said all of the shop’s goods will be vegan, nut-free, and “fairy-size”. She noted none of her products contain dairy, eggs, honey, or peanuts, which are technically legumes, but many of them will feature coconut, which is actually a fruit. In addition, Rivers plans to offer gluten-free options and is striving to use organic and fair-trade ingredients as much as possible.

“We’re definitely an ethical shop,” she said. “My goal is to make sure that everybody is treated well.”

According to Rivers, she’s been asked several times if the shop will sell full-size cakes. The answer is no. Cupcakes will be available in the form of regular-sized “fairy cakes”, as well as bite-sized “pixies”.

On a daily basis, Fairy Cakes will bake vanilla and chocolate cupcakes in flavours such as strawberry, blueberry, mocha, “cinnamon magic”, and chocolate chocolate mint. The shop will also have three types of savoury cupcakes: vegan ham and cheese, seafood and garlic, and tomato basil. Specials like carrot cupcakes, chai cupcakes, cookies, and cinnamon rolls will appear occasionally.

There’s no seating inside the shop, as the bakery takes up most of the space. That works for Rivers, as she plans to offer classes in baking, cooking, decorating, and cookie-cutter making. Fairy Cakes will also do catering and decorating for special occasions.

Asked whether the cupcake craze is over, Rivers said not by a long shot.

“You still see people using cupcakes over wedding cakes now,” Rivers explained. “You still see even cupcake decals on things, and things decorated in cupcakes. I know because I’m completely obsessed, and everything I have is covered in cupcakes. But you see it all over the place.”

You can follow Stephen Hui on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest.