Bakery and coffee shop Cupprimo has been a fixture in the North Austin community since 2008, offering unique cupcakes baked fresh everyday, custom desserts, breakfast quiches and a large coffee menu.

Staying local

In the 17 years since owner Amy Closson opened Cupprimo, the shop has remained in the same strip center location and expanded across three storefronts.

Closson even uses the same coffee roaster from when the shop first opened, she said.

“The really great thing about it is it’s the same mission—we wanted to bake fresh everyday and have great coffee,” Closson said. “We're lucky that the ZIP code we're in can support kind of a luxury cupcake brand. That makes it easy, because our own community uses us daily.”
Cupprimo owner Amy Closson. (Courtesy Cupprimo)
Amy Closson is the owner of Cupprimo. (Courtesy Cupprimo)
For dessert


Along with quiche, coffee and other drinks, Cupprimo's menu features seven cupcake flavors available every day of the week: red velvet, blue velvet, tuxedo, strawberry, birthday cake, double chocolate and primo vanilla.

The shop also has special flavors only available on certain days of the week, such as a cherry and lemon cupcake on Mondays; apple cinnamon cupcake on Tuesdays; white chocolate and coconut cupcake on Wednesdays; chocolate, caramel and sea salt cupcake on Thursdays; and a boozy espresso martini cupcake on Fridays.

There is also a mystery cupcake flavor available on Saturdays and Sundays, and vegan and gluten-free options are available every day of the week.
Cupprimo's chocolate truffle, lemon blueberry and blue velvet cupcakes. (Courtesy Cupprimo)
Cupprimo's chocolate truffle, lemon blueberry and blue velvet cupcakes. (Courtesy Cupprimo)
On top of running its daily operations, the shop creates custom cakes, cupcakes and party platters for birthdays, weddings, holidays and other events, and does “a lot of corporate catering” for vendors such as Apple and the University of Texas at Austin.
Cupprimo offers 6- or 8-inch custom cakes, as well as custom cupcakes and party platters for a variety of events including weddings. (Courtesy Cupprimo)
Cupprimo offers 6- or 8-inch custom cakes, as well as custom cupcakes and party platters for a variety of events, including weddings. (Courtesy Cupprimo)
What’s special about it?

In 2012, Closson and her then-head baker competed against three other bakeries on an episode of Cupcake Wars on Food Network, which she said was a “phenomenal experience.”


“It was back when Cupcake Wars was all that,” Closson said. “Back at that time, anyone that was on Food Network—it [automatically] improved everything about your company. ... We would have people bring their kids on spring break to visit because of that.”

Closson said she auditioned “in reverse,” because a network producer originally reached out after seeing Cupprimo’s social media account and driving by the shop while filming an episode of Top Chef in Austin.

“I met some great people on there too; other contestants that I stayed friends with for a long time,” Closson said. “Only one of them hung in the game long-term, because small business is dicey.”

A family affair


Closson’s husband Brad is a children’s book author and has even penned two books about Cupprimo’s cupcakes: “Amy and the Cupcake Council” and “Icing, Icing Everywhere!”

“Being where we are lends itself to families riding their bikes here, so it's kind of like a natural fit that kids love cupcakes, but also, Brad and I just love kids too,” Closson said.
Amy and the Cupcake Council by Brad Closson. (Courtesy Cupprimo)
Amy and the Cupcake Council by Brad Closson. (Courtesy Cupprimo)
Icing, Icing Everywhere! by Brad Closson. (Courtesy Cupprimo)
All five of Closson’s children have also worked in the shop at some point, she said, and she typically keeps a small staff of about 15 people who can handle Cupprimo’s front of house and back of house operations.

“There's a lot of pastry people that don't love the pace,” Cupprimo said. “We don't have room for a lot of missteps; we don't have a lot of downtime. You’ve kind of got to get the right fit for that, because not every creative loves that vibe. But I love it.”