With cupcakes, macarons, custom cakes and more, Bliss Cupcake Café is a longstanding community favorite for a sweet treat. Now under the ownership of Jeff and Lisa Simmons, the bakery continues to offer something for everyone as it prepares to expand to new locations in the near future.

Bliss Cupcake Café, a small regional franchise that began in Fayetteville, opened a Jonesboro location in 2014. In August 2023, Jeff and Lisa bought the bakery from Breanna Walton and Beth Futrell, and after putting their own stamp on the successful business, are ready to franchise to other stores across the country.

“We took over the operations in August of 2023, including the franchising arm of the business,” said Lisa, who runs the day-to-day operations at the store. “Robert Bahn with the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center gave us a call earlier in the year about this opportunity; Robert is with ASBTDC at Arkansas State University campus and knows that we purchase businesses in the area and thought this was a great opportunity for us. Without him and his knowledge, this would not have ever happened.”

Jeff and Lisa, who previously bought and sold Jonesboro’s Crown Trophy location, love investing in the community through small business ownership and were ready to dive into something new with Bliss.

“We did this with the Crown Trophy we owned; Chuck Weisenfeld was my mentor, because that was a franchise, too, with 150 stores nationwide,” said Jeff, a tax consultant. “He has been invaluable to me to get us ready to go.”

Despite what Jeff describes as a steep learning curve of owning and operating a bakery, Lisa has always loved to bake and dove into the couple’s new venture with excitement.

“I continually tinker with recipes trying to improve our quality, (and) we are starting keto products to go with the gluten free products, as well,” said Lisa. “We have changed some of the recipes for the cupcakes, going upscale with all our ingredients, from using real butter to making our own compote for other recipes. Our edible cookie dough recipes have changed, and we offer more choices in that realm. We have also focused on doing more fundraisers for local organizations by donating proceeds from sales for that day.

“Of course, I want the community to know us for our cupcakes, but we also have a great gluten-free area in which we have up to eight flavors a day for our gluten-free customers. Our cakes are really fantastic, and we do those as gluten-free, as well. We want to be known as a hometown bakery with great products and great consistency every day with some of the best customer service you will ever have.”

In addition to cupcakes and edible cookie dough, Bliss’ growing menu includes pupcakes for man’s best friend, macarons, cake balls, cookie sandwiches, cookie pops, candied pretzel rods and frosting shots. Cookie cakes and custom cakes are also available. Four cupcake flavors – Strawberry Bliss, Birthday Cake, Chocolate Milkshake and Red Velvet – are available daily, with at least four additional flavors also available.
“Our strawberry bliss cupcake is the most popular among our customers, but our macarons are a great choice, as well, and those will usually sell out every day regardless of the flavor,” said Lisa. “We have standard flavors we have every day, and then we will also rotate flavors in with those. Seasonally, we will add in summer flavors such as key lime, and in the fall of course you have to have pumpkin everything.”

The community continues to support the thriving bakery, thanks in part to its prime location along Red Wolf Boulevard.

“We love Bliss because nobody is ever sad coming in to get a cupcake; everybody is always happy,” said Jeff, who enjoys bringing the couple’s grandchildren to Bliss. “My wife can bake all day long – she is one of the best cooks you’ll ever meet – but we hire people who are good at their craft for the decorating. We have tinkered with a few of the recipes, but the rest are intact for the most part.”

Jeff and Lisa are quick to complement their talented staff, particularly their cake decorators.

“Our customers usually have an idea of what they want, and they will send pictures and our decorators go from there,” said Lisa. “We have a great group of decorators who can make your idea a reality, within reason.

“We do a variety of cakes, from smash cakes for birthday parties to multiple-tier wedding cakes. Our favorite cake to-date is a six-inch smash cake from our pupcake recipe for a Great Dane who was having a birthday party.”

As the local bakery continues to expand its offerings and draw customers from far and wide, the new owners say they are planning on casting their net a bit farther, as well.

“Now, we are getting ready to franchise out, because we bought the whole franchise,” said Jeff. “Everything is trademarked and ready to go. We want everything consistent from store to store to store, and we want to make sure that everything is perfect and that we have the support ready for the new stores, so we are taking our time. I’m champing at the bit, but we want to do it right. Batesville will most likely be the next one, then Southaven, Mississippi, then on to Central Louisiana.”

“The Solutions Group has reworked the website to make it more user friendly and to be able to order online, and they are now working with us on the franchise packets for potential investors,” added Lisa.

Bliss Cupcake Café, located at 1312 Red Wolf Blvd., Suite B, is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. For more information, go to blisscupcakecafe.com or Bliss Cupcake JBR on Facebook.