Diana Sproveri Designer Bake Shop Replaces Cookie Munch: Welcome, Cupcake On A Stick?

Celia Soudry

Lollibakes

Cupcake shops will probably outlive us all. Enter Lollibakes: little balls on sticks filled with gooey centers of cookie dough, red velvet, lemon and strawberry, then dipped in chocolate to create a hard outer shell. These mini cupcake-like treats can be found at Diana Sproveri's Tarzana bake shop, which opened Saturday, November 7th, replacing Cookie Munch.

Celia Soudry

Modeled after Diddy Riese in Westwood Village, Cookie Munch opened in February with ice cream sandwiches, hot dogs and candy. Sadly, owner Farah Gast closed the shop after less than a year. During the summer Diana Sproveri, who ran a catering company for three years, took over the space to open a retail store for her products. Though she is selling cupcakes -- and lots of them -- Lollibakes are a draw. "They don't have anything like this here," she said.

Though the new owner revamped the store, she held onto some Cookie Munch employees. And Gast drops in from time to time offering to help out. Unlike the colorful ice-cream sandwich shop which stood before it, the new, smaller space is minimalist in design, with simple white walls and no kitschy decor. Cupcake and Lollibake flavors vary from classic "wedding cake" and "old school" to seasonal "Charlie Brown" and "pumpkin spice." Happy hours this week are Thursday, Nov. 11, from 5-9 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 13, from 3-5 p.m. Cupcakes will be two dollars each (they are $3.25 at all other times). For updates on additional weekly happy hours follow Diana Sproveri on Twitter.

Diana Sproveri