Magnolia Bakery arrived in the Delhi NCR region earlier this month — quickly becoming a crowd favourite in the busy city. The new outlet in Gurugram has attracted hundreds of patrons since its launch with snaking queues taking over the pavement at all times. And as some on social media sang the praises of their tres leches others remains rather baffled by the craze.
‘Fascination for US brands?’
Gurugram became the latest to get an outlet of the iconic New York bakery mid-November — joining similar stores in Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. And while the latter cities might have gotten past their initial frenzy, the residents of Delhi NCR appear wholly fascinated with the newly available confectionaries.
“People are lining up outside Magnolia Bakery in Gurgaon like Delhiites lined up outside McDonald’s in 1990s in Priya Market. Fascination for US brands remain intact. Somethings never change,” rued one X user.
“Log itne free kyun hai? I like magnolia too…their bakery was below my office back in Bangalore. But just go after a couple of days rather than standing in a line,” urged an Instagram comment.
“This building doesn’t have proper parking for offices and we have to deal with this non sense everyday!” fumed a third.
“Everyone just wants to put a few pics on Instagram and then go eat chole bhature for dinner,” jibed a fourth.
From Manhattan to Gurugram
Magnolia Bakery is a renowned chain of bakeries that originated in New York City — famous for desserts such as cupcakes and banana pudding. It opened its first outlet in the West Village neighbourhood of Manhattan in 1996 and quickly sparked a cupcake ‘craze’. The brand carries several signature items including a oft-appreciated banana pudding and various cheesecakes and even cookies.
The chain eventually expanded into various US cities and later into Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, South Korea and the Philippines. The first Indian outlet of Magnolia bakery opened in Bengaluru in 2019 and quickly became popular among locals. The brand had subsequently expanded to Mumbai and Hyderabad and most recently into Gurugram.
