Bluff City Vegan Eats: Pink Diva Cupcakery

Y'all remember my friend Cassi, right? The vegan cupcake lady. A few months ago, I told you that her cupcake catering business had morphed into an actual bakery. At the time, she had just begun sharing space with Midtown Crossing Grill, a vegan-friendly pizza joint.

Well, Cassi has been dreaming of having her very own space for some time. And by some fortunate twist of fate, she landed a building all to herself! And now the stand-alone Pink Diva Cupcakery is open for business at 936 Florida Street downtown (Memphians: You'll recognize this place as the old DeJaVu). Cassi had her soft opening this past Wednesday, and now she's officially open for regular business.

I stopped by at opening time (11 a.m.) on Wednesday! I picked up two cupcakes — a Diva Delight (chocolate cupcake with chocolate mousse filling, whipped topping, and ganache) and a Chocolate Covered Orange (chocolate cupcake with cream filling, citrusy frosting, and ganache).

The coolest thing about the new Pink Diva Cupcakery is the food though! Cassi is now serving daily lunch and dinner specials. Wednesday was Build-Your-Own Vegan Mac & Cheese Bowl Day! That's basically the food of my dreams. First, you fill out a card with your desired toppings.

And then Cassi gets to work.

And voila! You get a big ole bowl of lunch! Mine had chickpeas, zucchini, carrots, tomatoes, and a side of vegan sour cream. I got takeout because Cassi announced her soft opening at the last minute the night before, and I already had lunch plans. So I actually grabbed this to eat for lunch today! It was delicious.

While I was there, I convinced a dine-in customer to let me take a pic of her pretty plated bowl.

I thought getting there at opening time would mean she wouldn't be busy yet, but before I left, four more customers had come through the door. And two arrived before me! Before official opening time! Here's Pink Diva fan Emily Yellin ready to order.

The space is a work in progress. She doesn't have her big outside sign yet, but her banner is displayed. And she's still working to fill up the walls with pictures, news clippings, and cupcake memorabilia. But it's filling up fast.

Cassi will be offering several cupcakes flavors each day, but the flavors will vary. Here's what was on offer Wednesday.

She always keeps a few of each flavor in her cute little cupcake fridge (but don't worry — there are more in the big fridge in the kitchen!).

She has a variety of fizzy drinks and coconut water. Cassi is really into bubbles.

You can check out the Pink Diva Cupcakery Facebook page daily for cupcake flavors and lunch specials. But if you stop in Friday (August 14th), Cassi will be cooking up fried vegan fish, spaghetti squash with tempeh, avocado & kale salad, and corn muffins.

Pink Diva Cupcakery is located at 936 S. Florida. She's open from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on weekdays (except she's closed on Thursday) and from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays. Call 901-946-0056.