New Cupcake Biz to Mix Sugary Snacks, Charity

An incoming business hopes to give back to the community in sweet way – with cupcakes.

Two social workers and a chef hope to open the Social Cupcake in Seal Beach soon, and sell specialty sweets on Wednesdays to raise money for local nonprofits.

With such flavors as salted caramel-chocolate, s'more and the traditional red velvet, Natalie Dwyer, one of three business partners behind the venture, said the “quick casual dining” restaurant at 907 Ocean Ave. would showcase friend Kian Clineff’s expert baking skills.

“I call them adult cupcakes,” Dwyer said. “(They're) just not overly sweet. I, as a child, never liked cupcakes. My family doesn’t like cupcakes, but for whatever reasons we gobbled Kian’s down.”

And it’s not just cupcakes. The Social Cupcake will offer entrees such as vegetable wraps, seasonal soups and chicken burger sliders.

Dwyer’s cousin, David Welle, the third partner, will oversee production.

“He was personal chef for a couple of families in Beverly Hills for a couple of years. He’s been running his own catering business for the last couple years,” Dwyer said. “(I asked) would you go into business with us? Because I need someone that knows how to put a kitchen together.”

Dwyer, who said the team put up a banner for the business about two months ago, hopes to open by the end of summer, but there still is a lot of work to be done.

According to Dwyer, the name Social Cupcake comes from Clineff and Dwyer’s background: Both have worked as social workers and want to keep social work a part of their business.

On Wednesdays, they’ll offer specialty cupcakes to raise money for local nonprofits. They already have three lined up: Operation Help a Hero, the Los Alamitos Education Foundation and the Surfrider Foundation.

For Dwyer, it’s not just that she loves Clineff’s baking, it’s also that cupcakeries are good business.

"When the economy is down, people buy alcohol and they buy sweets,” Dwyer said. “The cupcake business in the United States continues to have increases in profits every year.”

Dwyer has high hopes the Social Cupcake will satisfy local sweet tooths.

“We want people to be happy,” Dwyer said. “If you want to be successful: its location, it’s the product and it’s customer service.”

The biz’s website is thesocialcupcake.net.

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