On Clark Street in Lincoln Park, people line up late in the evening on a Friday to get into a small storefront. The line trails past the orange awning and down the sidewalk. But this isn’t a bar they are waiting for — it’s a cupcake store.

Molly’s Cupcakes has benefitted from the resurrection of cupcakes as a fashionable dessert, a trend that’s been all the rage for several years now. Molly’s opened in December 2007 and business has continued to grow steadily since then, general manager Gina Strumolo said.

Brothers Wolfy and John Nicolaides own the store and customers are willing to travel long distances for their cupcakes. Christine Sck and William Lee live on the South Side but made a point of coming to Molly’s for cupcakes.

“We came here because it was recommended to us by a friend,” Sck said.

Many say that the experience Molly’s provides — along with the cupcake — is what draws them back. The store keeps board games in a corner for customers to play. Some of the younger customers will hang around the shop during the weekend to play games, according to Strumolo, who said the store tries to cater to all age groups.

“It’s just a really fun place,” said Maggie Gallagher, a Chicago customer who was eating at Molly’s recently.

The most popular flavors at Molly’s are the red velvet cupcake and the Ron Bennington, a chocolate cupcake filled with peanut butter and covered with ganache and Butterfinger pieces. The cupcake is named for a host on XM Radio that the owners like.

Molly’s has 11 center-filled flavors on its menu throughout the year and other offerings that pop up seasonally for summer and winter. It also offers traditional flavors of cupcakes such as chocolate, vanilla and carrot with a variety of frostings and toppings. Besides cupcakes, Molly’s also sells coffee, homemade ice cream, cookies, pies and cheesecake.

Molly’s got its name from owner John Nicolaides’ third-grade teacher, who brought cupcakes to her class for each student’s birthday. Relics from her classroom decorate the walls of the shop, including blocks and a rabbit named Elroy. Strumolo says that the original recipes were the teacher’s own, modified only slightly since the store’s inception.

Unfortunately, Molly isn’t here to see the store’s success. She passed away several years ago.

Anywhere from 500 to 750 cupcakes are sold at Molly’s on the average weekday, Strumolo said. The average for the weekend is about 1,000 a day and the numbers increase during wedding season. During that time, the store bakes for between 16 and 20 weddings a month during the summer and fall.

“It’s gotten to the point that we’re so busy that regular days seem really slow. So it’s good, it’s definitely a good thing,” Strumolo said.