Bolingbrook's Cupcakeologist lets customers customize cupcakes

BOLINGBROOK – With lab coats fastened and test tubes in hand, customers of one Bolingbrook business are able to conduct tasty experiments with cupcakes as the catalyst.

Cupcakeologist, 751 E. Boughton Road, allows customers to not only purchase premade cupcakes but also create their own by choosing the frosting and toppings. The business will celebrate its one-year anniversary this August.

“I love that I can put a smile on people’s faces,” said Mirette Mikhail, Cupcakeologist owner. “I like having the ability to see the kids come and see the joy in their faces; it’s priceless and that’s what makes this business amazing. Not one [person] doesn’t come into the store and say, ‘Wow.’”

Cupcake creators are able to choose from a variety of cupcake flavors, 30 toppings, 20 test tubes of sprinkles and a variety of frostings, Mikhail said.

The store also boasts a unique offering of premade cupcakes, as each holds a different filling, Mikhail said. These include the Cupcookie, a chocolate cupcake filled with a chocolate chip cookie and topped with cream cheese chocolate frosting; the A+ Peanut Butter, a chocolate cupcake filled with peanut butter cream and topped with peanut butter chocolate frosting; and, a customer and personal favorite of Mikhail’s, the Honors Red Velvet, red velvet cake filled with cheesecake and topped with cream cheese frosting.

“It’s not like a bakery when you come to the store. Whatever people want, we do for them,” Mikhail said. “The store is very flexible to make people feel part of it. Customer service, that’s what we believe is what makes a good store.”

Cupcakeologist also offers ice cream and milk shakes, which customers can also create. It also hosts birthday parties and bakes cupcakes for special occasions. Customers can also utilize the shop’s photo booth, coloring section and games.

Mikhail, a Woodridge resident originally from Egypt, is the brainchild behind the business, as she wanted to combine her creative talents and interest in science.

The 23-year-old said she called herself the “Cupcakeologist” in high school, as she began making cupcakes at that time and entered a talent show. After the show, she received positive feedback and requests from parents asking her to teach their children how to make cupcakes, which was an inspiration for her idea for the Cupcakeologist business.

She also created a periodic table of cupcakes – which was modeled after the periodic table of elements by including a different-flavored cupcake for each element – for a bake sale to raise money for a club she created while studying pre-physical therapy and psychology at Benedictine University.

In addition to her knack for creativity, Mikhail is currently attending graduate school at Midwestern University to become a physical therapist.

Mikhail said that although she created the idea for the business, her family helps manage it. The business’ first year has gone well, Mikhail said, but she is working on building a larger customer base.

“Down the road we are looking to open another Cupcakeologist in the city, but first we want to grow this one and make sure it’s the best since it’s the first,” Mikhail said.

Mikhail said that although she juggles most of her time between school, the shop and church, she utilized a lesson from her parents and enjoys what she is doing.

“My parents always encouraged me to take chances in life and said that if I have a talent, to use it,” Mikhail said. “If anything, [this shop] has given me more motivation at school since I can do more than one thing in life. If you manage your time, you can do it.”

____

About Cupcakeologist

WHERE: 751 E. Boughton Road

HOURS: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday-Saturday; 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday

MORE INFO: 630-656-2272; www.cupcakeologist.us