Entrepreneur has a short interview with Steve Abrams, CEO and majority owner of Magnolia Bakery.  Magnolia is the New York bake shop chain that many credit with kicking off the cupcake craze that started in Manhattan and spread to other cities over the last few years.  Abrams bought Magnolia for $1 million, and, according to Entrepreneur, has built the company up to point where revenues now top $23 million. Abrams seems to want to expand the business, but only on his terms.  In addition to the original Magnolia Bakery, there are now 5 others, 4 in New York and 1 in Dubai.  Abrams and his family own all of them except the Dubai franchise.  In the Entrepreneur interview, Abrams explained why he has taken his time expanded the company footprint:

Entrepreneur: Did you have an expansion strategy in mind when you bought the original store in 2006?

Abrams: We had expansion plans, but wanted to stay true to our roots as the corner bakery. That's why all our stores in the United States are company owned. No franchising. No partnerships. No license deals. It can't be done by a franchisee. It's too complicated.

Entrepreneur: What's so complicated about baking cupcakes?

Abrams: The baking isn't complicated. Baking correctly and putting a product out that is correct is complicated, especially at the volumes we do. I could have easily turned [Magnolia] into a hub-and-spoke model, but I would have to dumb down the product and the quality, shorten the menu, and I would not be able to do the amount of specials and the different fun things we do.

Read the full article here.