Frosted, the Long Beach-based cupcakery that sits in the heart of Belmont Shore, is celebrating a milestone few small businesses—let alone a bakery focused on cupcakes—achieve. And that is 20 years in the business.
Owner Stacia Samartan is, as most would expect, not lost on this fact. But even more, her genuine, infectious sense of humility, humbleness, and hope is the real proof that a business isn’t just about its product, but the ethos.
“It really has been Long Beach that held me up, the community Frosted created,” Stacia said. And there was literal proof: after these were uttered, a mother had just stepped with her newly minted 11-year-old boy, picking up the annual tradition of cupcakes from Frosted on his birthday. “They’ve been so consistent, so present—even after they’ve either moved to a different neighborhood. Or even cities.”
Or even states: Shortly after this, a woman who had moved to Portland stepped in for a red velvet cupcake, noting she had “lived in Long Beach about a decade ago and my one stop is always Frosted. It never gets old, and there’s nothing like it. Well, at least between here and Portland.”
The ‘Sweet Street’ legacy of Belmont Shore has two main components…
The explosion of sweet offerings along Belmont Shore—whether it is spaces like Candified and Le Macaron or even shuttered spaces like Republic of Pie or the upcoming Sorry Not Sorry ice cream shop—there are two foundational leaders for 2nd Street being, well, the Sweet Street. There’s Sweet Jill’s. And then there is Frosted, whose story is inseparable from the story of 2nd Street itself.
The ebbs and flows, closures, and, across the past few years, its renaissance.
“We’ve seen it all,” Stacia said. “From the heyday to the pandemic slump, and now this new food-driven revival. And that revival really has lent toward a sense of resilience and independence for the neighborhood. Food brought 2nd Street back to life. And Long Beach people? They show up for you when you show up for them.”
Even as rents rise and the economics of small business grow harder, Frosted remains a model of how passion, patience, and community trust can outlast trends. “It’s simple,” Stacia said. “We’re here because Long Beach wanted us here.” And as Frosted turns 20 — surrounded by partners, neighbors, and frosting-smeared smiles — it’s clear that the city’s most beloved cupcake shop has built something far more lasting than sugar and butter. It has built belonging. And that is because of Stacia’s wild shift from fashion to flour.
From Paul Frank to pastry fabricator: The creative pivot behind Frosted
Before there was Frosted, there was fashion. And before there were cupcakes, there was a monkey. Stacia began her career as Paul Frank’s assistant during the brand’s early, wild days. It was quite the front-row seat to creative chaos and branding genius.
“Paul was so creative,” she said. “He taught me that you’re not just selling a product; you’re building a world. That lesson stuck… Years later, when my mom, Nancy, and I decided to open a bakery, it kinda became the heartbeat of our business approach. We knew Frosted wasn’t just a shop; it was an experience.”
In 2005, the duo opened a modest storefront on a side street off Claremont Avenue, where Foodologie now resides. At the time, cupcakes were far from trendy, and, if being entirely frank, sadly misconstrued as more bake-sale than boutique. “People literally said, ‘Do you think that cupcake shop’s going to make it?’” Stacia recalled with a laugh. But the mother-daughter team stayed undeterred, baking small batches daily, frosting by hand, and selling out of a kitchen that smelled perpetually of vanilla and buttercream.
Against all odds—and the predictions of skeptics at Paul’s Place, the nearby diner that is now shuttered—Frosted began to take root.
Cupcakes and community make the world go ’round—not trends.
“We started at the same time as Sprinkles,” Stacia said. “We just rode the wave, but in a totally Long Beach way… People here get behind you. They recognize when you care. And the best part is the result: we’re a part of people’s lives. And that’s cool.”
That “Long Beach way” meant staying true to small-batch baking and, as cliché as it might sound, neighborhood loyalty. Over the years, Frosted became a fixture in the city’s dessert landscape. It’s a place where generations have celebrated birthdays, graduations, and every small joy in between—as witnessed personally by multiple customers as I created this piece.
An array of Frosted cupcakes made for a special guest’s 11th birthday. Photo by Brian Addison.
The Frosted philosophy remains simple: do the classics really, really well. Red velvet. Lemon. Pumpkin cream cheese. Strawberry (made with real strawberries for the hardcore Betty Crocker fans). And that beloved chocolate, whichever your topping may be: caramel toffee. Vanilla buttercream. Chocolate on chocolate. Chocolate coconut buttercream…
All made the way you’d bake at home if you had the patience and precision of a pastry scientist. “We frost by hand, we bake throughout the day, and we never compromise on ingredients,” Stacia said. “That’s why when people come back after years, they tell us, ‘It still tastes just as good.’ We know it’s not the cheapest, but we know we’re consistent.”
A slow and steady rise: Amid a craze that saw loss, Frosted lasted.
While many cupcake chains expanded rapidly, Frosted resisted outside investors and grew organically. A second location in Hollywood came a few years later, strategically placed among film production studios on Highland Avenue. “We wanted to expand, but only if we could do it ourselves,” Stacia said. “No investors, no cutting corners.”
That self-sufficiency became critical during tough times, particularly COVID-19. “It was brutal,” Stacia admitted. “But something beautiful happened — everyone just got hyperlocal. People stayed home, supported their neighborhood shops. It reminded us why we do this.” The Long Beach community kept them afloat, proving once again that loyalty is the best marketing plan.
Now, as the bakery marks two decades in business, it joins the ranks of Belmont Shore institutions once reserved for legends like Sweet Jill’s and the long-gone Grandma Sugarplums. “When we started, we said if we could be to people what Grandma Sugarplums was to us—you know, part of their Belmont Shore memories—then we’d have made it,” Stacia said. “And now, here we are.”
The 20th anniversary celebration of Frosted is nothing short of a love letter to Long Beach
Frosted’s 20th anniversary celebration on Oct. 25 is shaping up to be a block party that captures the city’s collaborative spirit. “We wanted to celebrate not just us, but Long Beach itself,” Stacia said.
The event will feature partnerships with some of the city’s most beloved local businesses:
- Lemongrass Burgers, the Cambodian American pop-up run by the indefatigable Rasmi and Crystal, will serve food.
- Seaside Creamery will bring its mobile ice cream setup, collaborating on an exclusive Coffee Drunk “Instigator” ice cream cupcake, a nod to Frosted’s early “ice cream cupcake” concept.
- Onset Coffee will caffeinate guests with pop-up espresso service.
There will be free cupcake “bites” featuring Frosted’s throwback flavors, from Nutella to Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Black Velvet, and a special Halloween-inspired “Dirt Cup” cupcake. Guests can also snag limited-edition anniversary bandanas, designed by a former employee-turned-tattoo artist, and take photos under balloon installations by Balloons Baby.
Even the Belmont Shore Business Association is getting involved, planning a ceremonial ribbon-cutting, something Frosted never had when it first opened. “Twenty years ago, they didn’t do ribbon cuttings,” Stacia said, laughing. “It feels full circle.”
Frosted is located at 4817 E. 2nd St.
