Sweet stops on campus: Hello, Cupcake

Store Owner, Allix Waller, speaks to the Ledger about the delicious cupcakes they serve for all Tacomans to have.

Hello, Cupcake is a bright, pastel cupcake shop located at the heart of the UW Tacoma campus. Store owner, Allix Waller, spoke about their dedication to providing methodically made cupcakes for all Tacomans. 

“We believe that cupcakes should be simple, elegant, and delicious, and it’s with this in mind that we meticulously craft every cupcake, every day,” said Waller. 

Although Waller didn’t start Hello, Cupcake, she spoke about the intentions both Reina Beach and her mother, Tina Miller, had when establishing the brand as a full fledged small business in downtown Tacoma.

“The concept for the shop began as a daydream long before cupcake bakeries were strip mall staples, and it blossomed over the course of countless conversations around the kitchen table that began with ‘If we had a cupcake shop’,” she said. 

Waller spoke about the rise in popularity of cupcake shops that she saw back when she bought the shop in 2014. She saw what Hello, Cupcake had to offer with its elaborate cupcakes that come in such small packages. 

“Over the years, Hello, Cupcake has become a fixture in the Tacoma community and a must-stop destination for locals and tourists alike. Our cupcakes are baked from scratch daily and topped with handmade buttercreams, using only the finest ingredients,” Waller said. 

Baking and decorating fresh cupcakes every day means that when it comes to creating the cupcake flavors, Waller and her team are tasked with having to be innovative in order to create something new and exciting. And after nearly 14 years of business, their creativity is alive and the team is always working to improve their stock. 

Although they don’t 100% specialize in custom designs (i.e., custom fondant or custom piping), they still have an assortment of designs available and their cupcake flavors are all their own. Hello, Cupcake has a wide variety of tantalizing tastes to choose from.

Year round they carry chocolate, vanilla, red velvet, carrot, strawberry and lemon. Besides these six flavors, they have four to five that change every season, and one to two flavors changing monthly.

“Our spring menu includes chocolate macaroon, coconut, mint chocolate, pecan turtle and pink champagne. Our flavor of the month for April is Key Lime Pie, and we will also have Mexican chocolate from May 1 to May 5!” Waller said.

Even with all these delicious flavors of cupcakes in mind, Waller still has her favorites. 

“My favorite cupcake to eat is pumpkin spice, and my favorite cupcake to make is our french toast cupcake because of how good it smells when it comes out of the oven! Both are available on our fall menu,” she said.

Besides her own favorites, Waller noted that the cupcakes that make a lot of Tacomans flock to Hello, Cupcake differ from her choices and are primarily chocolate, red velvet, strawberry cheesecake, pink champagne and cookie dough,

And to the UWT students, staff and faculty, Hello, Cupcake stands ready to help any and all celebrate occasions big or small. This is the goal they set out to achieve.

“Our passion is fueled by the opportunity to take part in life’s joyful moments — whether it’s passing an algebra test, getting a promotion or marrying your best friend,” she said. “Every day is a reason to celebrate, and if you ask us, every celebration is a reason to eat cupcakes!”