Meet Tracy Karas of Azcupcakegirls in Tempe and East Valley

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tracy Karas.

Tracy, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Essentially, my friends and I started tasting cupcakes (or trying out various bakeries) throughout the Valley of the Sun (Phoenix area) as a way to make sure we hung out on a frequent or at least monthly basis. From here, our visits turned into blog reviews that we started posting. This lead to Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter feeds with the goal of promoting local bakeries/businesses and keeping people up to date on dessert happenings, especially those involving cupcakes.

Finally, it evolved into our annual cupcake off event. We just finished our 4th Annual Cupcake Off, where we feature six local bakers/bakeries who submit a chocolate and a specialty cupcake. It is a blind taste test where those who buy tickets are invited to try and rate the submitted cupcakes, allowing us to crown a winner for the year. We sell shirts and raffle tickets, donating a portion of the proceeds to a different charity each year. This year we featured Feed My Starving Children. We also hold the event at a local pizzeria/brick oven pizza restaurant to once again, highlight local businesses (this year we hosted it at Bella Gusto Urban Pizzeria in Chandler).

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It’s been a lot of trial and error. Learning how to post (or even blog in the first place), developing a rating system that is both fair, but honest. Our goal is always to highlight something positive about each bakery, even if we were not a fan of their items. As well, we have had quite the learning curve with putting together the Cupcake event. We’ve worked on getting our system in place for cutting, serving, being as efficient as possible; making the event larger, but keeping the experience fun and intimate at the same time. And each year we learn something new to make it hopefully better and smoother. The fun part is always about finding new places to try (but that can also be a challenge because we’ve currently tried at least 70 places, home bakers included).

Please tell us about your business.
I think what sets us apart is that we are pretty honest but kind with our reviews and posts. We don’t favor places because they invite us out, we try to remain as impartial as possible, so we hope this means people can trust our recommendations. But, we also know that these are businesses people pour their hearts and souls into and we try to keep that in mind when we write a review (meaning we do always try to find something positive with each tasting, even if we were generally not a fan of what we tried).

We also like to be known for highlighting local options, bringing to light new places, and generally keeping people up to date on what is around the valley (especially for good desserts).

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
To be honest, as we were blogging and reviewing, when we finally decided to throw our first Cupcake Off event, Ofelia Montelongo, who had started and was running Chocolate Tour of Scottsdale at the time (definitely a tour you should check out if you are a dessert fan!), was a big help with ideas, assisting, and of course, finding dessert places. She even helped us with checking people in/out at the first Cupcake Off. And as per usual, none of us could do this without the support of our significant others, especially my ever-patient boyfriend, who listen to our stress regarding event details and pitch in, with family members assisting with event set-up, Cupcake serving, etc.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://azcupcakegirls.blogspot.com/
• Phone: 602-751-7966
• Email: azcupcakegirls@gmail.com
• Instagram: @azcupcakegirls
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/azcupcakegirls/
• Twitter: @azcupcakegirls

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