Another bakery owned by the popular local Wuollet chain has closed, this one in downtown Minneapolis.
Another Wuollet Bakery closes in the Twin Cities
The local chain’s owner started buying up neighborhood bakeries in the Twin Cities in 2016, pledging to preserve their family-owned feel. But financial and quality woes have plagued his businesses.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
September 5, 2024 at 2:32PM
The Wuollet Bakery in the skyway level of U.S. Bank Plaza, at 200 S. 6th St., has a sign on the door that the site is permanently closed.
Court documents show that the bank issued Wuollet’s owner, Eric Shogren, a default notice in November, and by July Shogren owed $42,400 in back rent.
Shogren started buying up neighborhood bakeries in his native Twin Cities in 2016, pledging to preserve their family-owned feel while also attracting the next generation of pastry lovers. But money and quality woes have plagued his businesses.
Those businesses include A Baker’s Wife in south Minneapolis, Grandma’s Bakery in White Bear Lake and Wuollet Bakery locations throughout the Twin Cities area, including the former Emily’s Bakery and Deli in Hastings and Hans’ Bakery in Anoka.
The Wuollet locations in Wayzata and Hastings have also closed amid eviction proceedings.
Shogren’s Twin Cities bakery purchases have typically come as longtime owners retired or chose to take a back seat in the operations. He bought A Baker’s Wife in 2016 and the 75-year-old Wuollet chain in 2019. More recent acquisitions include Grandma’s, Emily’s and Hans’.
“We’re really working hard to make our business successful,” Shogren told the Minnesota Star Tribune in June. “We’re trying to be part of the solution here.”
Staff writer Emma Nelson contributed to this story.
The center provided a gathering place in north Minneapolis for those who weren’t always welcome elsewhere.
