Magnolia Bakery • 1996

A single cupcake perched on a West Village stoop launched a nationwide craze when Magnolia Bakery opened on Bleecker Street in 1996, later catapulted to icon status by a brief but unforgettable Sex and the City scene. Founders Allysa Torey and Jennifer Appel built their reputation on old-fashioned American sweets—buttercream-piled cupcakes, creamy banana pudding, and from-scratch layer cakes. The original shop still draws lines down the block for those pastel-swirled cupcakes and pudding served in signature to-go cups.