When a truck hit the sign outside Honey & Rye bakery in St. Louis Park, it mangled the word "bakehouse," which was printed on an arrow pointing to the flaky, buttery wares inside.
Owner Anne Andrus decided not to bother fixing it. If anything, the arrow just needs to turn a little to the right: the bakehouse portion of Honey & Rye has moved down the street to a new production facility that, fortunately, has a small shop attached.
That bakehouse, which opens this weekend, is only a 3-minute walk from the flagship, a happy accident. Sweets lovers get to benefit.
"The whole thing was production space, first and foremost," said Andrus. She took over a building that used to house Judith McGrann & Friends, a clothing store, with plans to turn it into a larger kitchen that could handle the output of Honey & Rye's already at-capacity wholesale orders. A classroom would be the second component.
But the city of St. Louis Park wanted this Excelsior Boulevard storefront to house a customer-focused business "so people could come in and keep walkability, which I totally get and appreciate," Andrus said. "So that presents the issue that we're here," in the new pink-and-green shop, "and here," she said, pointing out the window to the first bakery just a small strip mall away.
Operating neighboring bakeries posed a conundrum, but it turned out to be a lucky problem to have. When loyal customers rely on you for their favorites, it gets tricky for a baker to try new things.
But at bakehouse, anything goes.
The sun-streaked pastry shop's tightly curated display offers colorful new treasures. You'll find a humble cereal bar, one of Andrus' favorite things to make at home. Here, it's a doctored-up version dusted with powdered dried strawberries.
