Je T’aiMe Cupcakes and Cocktails opens at Milford mall

MILFORD — Maxine Harris said it feels fulfilling for Je T’aiMe Cupcakes and Cocktails be in its Connecticut Post Mall location.

“We dedicated a lot of time and hours getting the store ready,” she said. “Sometimes, it still doesn’t feel real. I wake up in the morning, and I have the routine that I do to get to work. Then Lauren comes in and fills in for the rest of the day when I leave.”

The business had its grand opening on Monday,

May 2.

“Things have been smooth,” said Harris. “We were afraid of becoming overwhelmed and not having enough product, but we over exceeded our expectations and made enough cupcakes. We had great customer interaction.”

Harris, chief culinary executive at Je T’aiMe Cupcakes and Cocktails, cofounded the eatery with her longtime friend Laurren Robinson.

“In French, Je t’aime means ‘I Love You,’ but for us it is also an acronym for people in our family we want to pay homage to,” said Harris. “The J is for Judy, Laurren’s aunt; the T is for Thaine Boomer, my 93year-old great grandmother, and the M is for Miles, Lauren’s uncle.”

For Harris, the journey to opening Je T’aiMe began in 2020 when she and Robinson decided to open a business together. They planned to open an event planning business, advancing as far as getting a business line of credit approved. But then the world shut down.

Both Harris and Robinson still wanted to open a business together but didn’t know what to do until Harris had the idea of making a cupcake business with her friend.

A cupcake business alone wouldn’t be enough, so Harris decided to use her bar tending experience and incorporate alcohol into their cupcakes by infusing them with different beverages.

Then they went one step further and included different flavors that customers wouldn’t think of.

Even though they do have the traditional vanilla, chocolate, strawberry and pineapple, they also have flavors such as blueberry passion fruit with a mango frosting or cranberry and white chocolate pumpkin cake.

And the work hasn’t stopped since for the duo. Their storefront has an unfinished back room, and with their first anniversary as business owners coming up on July 24, they plan to open the room with a second ribbon-cutting.

They also are going to spruce up the storefront to look more like a typical bakery because at the moment, Harris said customers sometimes don’t realize their products are intended to be eaten.

“A person told me these are too perfect to be cupcakes, they must be candles,” she said. “While we do have scented candles like our cupcake flavors, we are a cupcake shop. Our storefront does look like a home because we wanted it to be inviting, warm and welcoming. But we want to fix a couple of things to make it look more like a bakery setting.”