Gigi's Cupcakes says goodbye to Chapel Hill

UNC junior Shauna Barnett always tries to fit in her monthly trip to Gigi’s Cupcakes for a frosting-filled break, but now she will have to go elsewhere to get her sugar fix.

Gigi’s Cupcakes of Chapel Hill closed its doors to customers for the last time Saturday after sales for the cupcake connoisseur lagged.

Alan Thompson, CEO of the Gigi’s Cupcakes franchising division, said the success of other Triangle locations only emphasized the lackluster sales in Chapel Hill.

“The biggest reason it’s closing is that we have three other locations in the Triangle area that do really well,” he said. “So in Chapel Hill, because that site lacked parking, really wasn’t a good site for us and sales just weren’t up to par.”

Thompson said the store’s owners are looking for a new location in the Chapel Hill-Durham area that will accommodate parking needs.

The store, which opened in late September 2013, struggled to maintain a steady flow of traffic, said Chris Kieffer, director of marketing for Ram Realty Services, which oversees the 140 West complex where Gigi’s was located.

“I don’t know their exact business model, but I think they really struggled with getting in large-foot traffic, especially since when they did, people would only buy one or two cupcakes,” Kieffer said.

As far as the future of the space Gigi’s previously occupied, Kieffer said it is already attracting attention, but he declined to comment on which businesses were looking at it.

UNC junior Judy Robbins worked for the Chapel Hill Gigi’s Cupcakes during her sophomore year but left to find a job with additional hours.

She said she had not heard the business was closing but acknowledged it often struggled to find a solid customer base, even though she said its products were better than its competition’s.

“It’s a great shop, and it was an awesome place to work, but I can see the faults in having a business that solely sells gourmet cupcakes in a college town,” Robbins said. “There’s just not a market for that specificity, especially when Sugarland exists and has drinks and gelato.”

Robbins said students rarely bought multiple cupcakes, which might have hurt the store’s profit.

“We didn’t have college students buying a dozen cupcakes — it was really just one or two at a time,” Robbins said.

The Chapel Hill location of Gigi’s Cupcakes was the sixth franchise in North Carolina for the Tennessee-based company, which has approximately 100 franchises nationwide.

North Carolina’s regional, owners Jude Crowell and Rick Setaro, still oversee two locations in Raleigh and Cary.

Barnett said she was shocked when she realized her favorite sugary stop was no longer an option.

“I can’t wrap my mind around why they would close,” Barnett said. “I feel like they just disappeared so soon without any notice. I mean, if someone told me they were leaving, I would have bought another cupcake before they left. You know, just one red velvet for the road.”

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