NV Cupcakes to open second location in Denton

Sisters Ngoc and Van Nguyen are expanding from their current Corinth store.

Photo by Colin Dobkins

Ngoc and Van Nguyen show off a batch of their cupcakes.

Nestled in a low-key shopping center in Corinth, NV Cupcakes churns out sweet treats daily, luring customers to the nondescript location through the strength of its cupcake concoctions.

The one-oven operation hopes to gain some added visibility this March when it opens a second location at 118 McKinney St. in Denton.

The co-owners, sisters and UNT alumnae Van and Ngoc Nguyen, opened the Corinth store in November 2010 and have since staked a claim as two of North Texas’ premier cupcake bakers.

NV Cupcakes has sponsored UNT football, provided baked goods for bridal showers, and won a cake baking competition at UNT last year.

Now the sisters plan to open a second shop smack-dab in the heart of Denton, with an extra room for lounging and drinking coffee, or for private parties to rent.

“We originally wanted to be in Denton, so we’re just expanding,” Van Nguyen said. “Denton is more our kind of town.”

Van Nguyen, who graduated from UNT in 2004 with a degree in rehabilitation studies, began baking her own pastries and cupcakes as a way to protest expensive birthday cakes and a limited selection at grocery stores.

She went from a toy-like fire truck cake at her son’s first birthday in 2008 to baking 500 cakes a weekend at NV Cupcakes.

Ngoc Nguyen, a 2008 biology grad, was part of her older sister’s adventure every step of the way.

“We were hoping it would turn into a full-time thing, and after the first week it did,” Ngoc Nguyen said. “This opportunity only comes once.”

Each cupcake is handcrafted with a few simple ingredients and mountains of icing whipped together with a small hand mixer.

Their signature cupcake, strawberry with strawberry icing, has real strawberries and pure buttercream icing.

Other flavors include mocha latte, bananas foster, zesty lemon lime, Snickers, and hunny bunny carrot, to name a few.

Menu staples include classic flavors like chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry, while other flavors rotate daily. There are about six different flavors available each day.

“It’s nice to have coffee houses to hang out in, but there’s not a place to get baked goods later in the day,” said Jonathan Wenske, pre-communication design freshman. “Having this near the square will make it really convenient.”

NV Cupcakes in Corinth is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Van Nguyen said a specific date for the opening of NV Cupcake’s Denton location had not yet been set and that she was waiting to hear back from the city about permitting.

She predicted the new store would be baking at full capacity by the end of March, and said she was excited to connect with the Denton community.

“We get to be part of people’s birthdays, anniversaries, and watch their kids grow up,” Van said. “If we open up more shops, it’ll be locally. I like to be able to talk to customers and know their names.”