After 13 Years, CakeLove closing on U Street “to Focus on New Line of Business”

1506 U Street, NW

Ed. Note: I know some people joke about CakeLove today – but for those who weren’t around – when CakeLove first opened on U Street back in the day they were the absolute shit – they were the bomb – they were the bees knees. If you got someone CakeLove for their birthday – you were a hero. They were also the ones who started the cupcake revolution in DC. Like I said, we joke about it now (hell I joke about it often) but CakeLove did an awful lot to turn around this section of U Street back when there weren’t tons of reasons to visit U Street unlike today. So props to the CakeLove team – we kid – but I have nothing but respect for what you’ve accomplished and what you’ve done for the resurgence of U Street and the District.

In January 2012 Love Cafe closed across the street and is now Mediterranean Spot.

From a press release:

“CakeLove, a DC-based cake bakery founded in 2002, is launching a new online store this month in response to significantly increased demand for its premium grab-and-go dessert, CakeLove in a Jar. To facilitate CakeLove’s growth and expansion, the company is shuttering its long-time U Street location.

To mark the start of this great new chapter, CakeLove is hosting a party on Saturday, Dec. 19, from noon to 3 p.m. to celebrate its 13+ years at 1506 U Street NW with neighbors, friends, fans and supporters.

The launch party will include a cake-cutting ceremony to mark the official launch of a new CakeLove, free giveaways of CakeLove’s new product, CakeLove in a Jar, and a raffle of several autographed cookbooks by CakeLove’s founder, Warren Brown.

“The closing of CakeLove’s flagship location marks a new beginning for us,” says Brown, who left a career in law to start his own business 15 years ago. “For several years, CakeLove has been transitioning away from its brick-and-mortar stores and developing a new line of grab-and-go premium desserts. Our goal is to expand beyond the greater DC metro area and into more supermarkets and specialty grocery stores across the nation.”

CakeLove in a Jar is already available in a number of grocers on the east coast, including Whole Foods across the mid-Atlantic, Mrs. Green’s, Kings Market and Balducci’s in the New York metro area, numerous independent grocers in the NYC tri-state area, plus specialty grocers like Glen’s Garden Market and Union Kitchen Grocery here in DC. It is also available through its online store at www.cakelove.com, in select Springhill Suites, and on Norwegian Airline flights.

Customers in the DC region will continue to be able to order CakeLove’s signature layer cakes through www.cakelove.com. Those cakes will be available for delivery or pick-up from the U Street location before December 31, 2015. After the New Year, cakes will be available for delivery or pick-up from CakeLove’s new warehouse space at 4940 B Eisenhower Ave, Alexandria VA 22304, with additional pick-up points around the DC metro area to be determined.

The hours of the U Street shop for the last week of December are:

Dec 24, 2015: 8:30 AM to 3 PM

Dec 25-28, 2015: closed

Dec 29-30, 2015: 8:30 AM to 5 PM

Dec 31, 2015: 8:30 AM to 3 PM”