A ‘Sweet’ Addition to the Square

Cupcake fanatics will get their fill of ‘Sweet’ when the aptly named cupcake vendor hits Harvard Square this spring.

Sweet currently has a branch in Boston’s Back Bay and is slated to open in the Brattle Street storefront between Tealuxe and Curious George Books and Toys—a site formerly occupied by Cross, the high-end pen store. The store’s launch date has not been set, but owner Courtney M. Forrester said she hopes to be serving her fresh-baked daily goods by early May.

Forrester first opened the Boston branch of Sweet in May 2008.

“I kind of got on a cupcake kick,” she said of her restaurant’s beginning. “I noticed, as I was experimenting with my own recipes, that there weren’t a lot of places in Boston to purchase things that were fresh-made.”

Cupcakes have enjoyed an upsurge in popularity in recent years, with stores like New York City’s Magnolia Bakery drawing credit for sparking the craze over the portable confections. The trend has also caught on in other major cities, like Los Angeles.

Closer to home, Kickass Cupcakes in Somerville’s Davis Square opened in 2007, and many Boston bakeries offer gourmet twists on the childhood favorite.

Forrester said that while her product was influenced by Magnolia, Sweet takes a different tack.

“Magnolia has a little bit more of a home-baked feel,” she said. “Our cakes are more stylized.”

Sweet’s daily menu will include the requisite chocolate and vanilla cupcakes along with seasonal and specialty flavors. Forrester said that the cupcakes are baked fresh daily without stabilizers and preservatives. Vegan-friendly options will be available on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Denise A. Jillson, executive director of the Harvard Square Business Association, said she had already sampled Sweet’s offerings.

“I think I’m going to need a treadmill,” she said, laughing.

She said that opening up the original Sweet in the middle of an economic downturn has not been a problem.

“We’ve had a really warm welcome from the Boston community and a really good business level,” she said.

Cross—the original occupant of the space that the new cupcake shop will fill—has decided to focus its enterprise on its mall locations.

“[Cross] never really worked in that location,” said Jillson.

Andre N. Davies ’11, a self-proclaimed cupcake connoisseur, has already scoped out Sweet’s competition. In an interview yesterday, he discussed offerings at Kickass Cupcakes, the Harvard dining halls, and Au Bon Pain.

“I’m very excited,” he said of Sweet’s opening. “I like extra, extra icing.”

As for Forrester’s favorite, it’s a tie.

“The vanilla is closest to my heart,” he said, but not before adding, “Our red velvet is really yummy.”

—Staff writer Lingbo Li can be reached at lingboli@fas.harvard.edu.