Wuollet Bakery and owner default on $1.3 million in loans, bank says

Wuollet Bakery and owner Eric Shogren have been sued by a Chicago-based bank after defaulting on two loans, owing a total of over $1.3 million.

Lawsuits filed Friday against the owner and several individual bakeries are the latest financial setback for Shogren and his Twin Cities bakery business, which has closed three of seven Wuollet outlets this year.

“We are ambitiously working with our lenders to restructure and reorganize Wuollets,” Shogren said in a statement to the Star Tribune. “We are not closing. We are reconfiguring the footprints of some of our retail locations.”

Shogren bought the 75-year-old Wuollet chain in 2019, after buying A Baker’s Wife bakery in south Minneapolis three years earlier. In more recent years, he has purchased Hans’ Bakery in Anoka, Grandma’s Bakery in White Bear Lake and Emily’s Bakery and Deli in Hastings.

Byline Bank sued Shogren, several Wuollet-related businesses and Hans’ Bakery LLC and Bakers Wife LLC in Anoka County state district court. Byline filed another suit in Hennepin County the same day, naming Shogren, several Wuollet entities and Bakers Wife as defendants.

In Hennepin County, Byline Bank claims Shogren and his companies defaulted on a 2019 loan by failing to make monthly payments, now owing $718,332 plus interest. The bank wants a court judgement for the money and the right to seize collateral, including equipment and inventory.

In Anoka County, Byline Bank says Shogren defaulted and failed to make payments on a 2021 loan, now owing $612,703, including interest. The bank wants a judgement and court permission to foreclose on a mortgage for the Hans’ Bakery property in Anoka.

Shogren and his wife, Olga, who is also defendant in both suits, breached personal guarantees made on both loans, the bank claims.

Shogren built a major bakery and restaurant business in Russia before returning to his native Minnesota. He started buying neighborhood bakeries, pledging to preserve their family-owned feel while also attracting the next generation of pastry consumers.

But between May and early September, Wuollet outlets in Wayzata, Hastings and downtown Minneapolis closed amid eviction proceedings.

Also, a former Grandma’s Bakery employee said in a claim filed in Ramsey County conciliation court that her paycheck bounced. The suit was settled. Meanwhile, customers at multiple Shogren locations have complained that the quality of the baked goods has suffered since changes in ownership.

Shogren has refuted complaints about quality, saying patrons might instead be reacting to a different array of products than they were used to before he bought the bakeries.