Lush Dessert Bar Makes a Splash at Party Fest

Lush Dessert Bar offers a wide variety of grown-up cupcakes made with wine, liqueur and other spirits. The company was originally established as Crav Alcohol Infused Desserts in Wichita, Kansas in 2010. Company founder Nichole Kinchion relocated to Dallas and opened as Lush Dessert Bar in 2017. “Dallas is such a great foodie city, the move has been a real success,” says Kinchion.

Recently Lush was one of 200 suppliers featured at Party Fest 2018 held at Dallas Market Hall on April 4. The invitation-only event brought together event suppliers, planners and industry affiliated organizations for a single day of networking and updates on the newest trends in the industry. “Party Fest was an amazing event,” says Kinchion. “We had a return on our investment within days of the event. I have been very impressed.”

Lush Dessert Bar offers alcohol-infused treats as regular cupcakes, cupcakes in a jar or in bite-sized mini Cupcake Shotz. Cupcake flavors include Hot Buttered Rum featuring butter cake, rum, butterscotch schnapps frosting and a wafer crumble, and The Red Vixen made with chocolate cake and red wine.

For the younger crowd, Lush offers virgin or non-alcoholic desserts inspired by nostalgic beverages like the Dream Cream Soda made with French vanilla cake, cream soda frosting and Heath topping, or the Hot Mama Hot Chocolate cupcake made with chocolate cake, hot cocoa and marshmallow frosting.

The company serves personal events such as wedding receptions and graduations, but does most of their business in the meetings and events industry. “We offer a unique spin on alcohol-infused events with our desserts that are not only novelty treats but great-tasting high quality cupcakes as well,” says Kinchion.

The cupcakes in a jar are completely customizable with top labels, wrap-around labels or individual note cards. The company caters local events, but for planners outside the Dallas area, Lush Dessert Bar cupcakes in a jar are easy to ship and have a shelf life of up to two weeks.

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Dismantling of Controversial LAPD Building Set to Start

In Parker Center’s place, $700 million civic office tower to rise 27 stories
The long-awaited tear-down of the the Parker Center, the former Los Angeles Police Department headquarters, is scheduled to start this month, making way for a new Downtown office tower on the site.

After months of delays, rising budgets and pushback from preservationists, Silverado Contractors Inc. will finally dismantle the eight-story building at 150 N. Los Angeles St., which is steeped in history and controversy dating back some 70 years, according to Rafu Shimpo, the Los Angeles Japanese news outlet.

Silverado, based in Oakland, will need to mitigate a number of hazardous materials in the circa-1950s building, including asbestos, but expects to finish the demolition project in late 2019, at a cost of $16.7 million.

In Parker Center’s place, a $700 million civic office tower will rise 27 stories above street-level retail and include 1,200 underground parking stalls.

Mahmood Karimzadeh, principal architect with the city’s bureau of engineering, did not give an estimated date for the project’s completion during an informational meeting in July, according to Rafu Shimpo.

Parker Center was named after William Parker, who was sworn in as L.A.’s chief of police in 1950, and who remained in the position until his death in 1966, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. He was a controversial figure who brought positive transformation to the department, but who also became a symbol of the department’s racist past.

The destruction of the Parker Building was largely welcomed by civil rights activists and members of the Japanese-American community, which had businesses displaced when the building was constructed in the early 1950s. Through eminent domain, the city used land that was home to several Little Tokyo businesses as the site of the former police headquarters.

Other groups, including the Los Angeles Conservancy, opposed the Parker Building demolition and fought to make it a landmark. It was designed by Welton Becket, known for his post-World War II architecture style, which can still be seen in several 1950-era L.A. landmarks, including the Capitol Records building.

The Coalition to Preserve L.A. is currently gathering signatures for a ballot measure that would transform the site into homeless housing named for L.A.’s late Mayor Tom Bradley.