Molly's Cupcakes to open first franchise in Iowa City

Molly's Cupcakes, which has its flagship location in Chicago and another one in New York City, will open its first franchise in Iowa City, Iowa. From KCRG:

A former employee of Chicago-based Molly’s Cupcakes plans to open the bakery’s first franchised location this summer in Iowa City, pending a $35,000 working capital loan to be considered by the Economic Development Committee of the Iowa City Council next week.

Jamie Smith, 29, of Iowa City, hopes to open the restaurant in late July at 14 S. Clinton St., the former location of Liberty Bank’s downtown branch. The bakery will be open until midnight on weekends, offering an alternative to bars for late-night socializing, Smith said.

Smith worked for the original location of Molly’s Cupcakes in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood for more than two years before moving back to Iowa. The bakery is well known on Chicago’s North Side, has opened a second location in New York City’s West Village. It gained national exposure during an appearance on the Food Network program Cupcake Wars.

“I knew it would go over well, seeing the extreme success of it in Chicago and also knowing how Iowans were,” Smith said. “It’s just such a welcoming environment, and the cupcakes are delicious.”

Molly’s Cupcakes founder John Nicolaides named the bakery concept after his third-grade teacher, who baked cupcakes for her students on their birthdays.