Red Bench Bakery, located in Chaska and Excelsior, has extended its presence to Eden Prairie through a partnership with Fat Pants Brewing, 8335 Crystal View Road.
The collaboration began on May 17.
Operating from a food truck inside Fat Pants Brewing, Red Bench Bakery offers a streamlined selection of pastries, cookies, and specialty coffee drinks, distinct from its extensive menu at the Chaska and Excelsior locations. Customers can indulge in these treats from Wednesday to Sunday, between 7 and 11 a.m.
Based in Chaska, the bakery has maintained its downtown location there for five years. In Excelsior, it has operated a downtown location for four years.
“It’s not our full boat of menu items, but it’s about three-fourths of our pastries until we start getting more people in, and then we’ll start bringing more stuff out,” said Andrew Mooney, the chef/owner of the family-owned business about the Eden Prairie location. “I don’t like wasting anything.”
The collaboration was driven by a shared connection between the two businesses. Mooney explained that Don Anderson, one of the owners and head brewer of Fat Pants, also holds a personal tie to the bakery. Anderson’s son was one of the bakery’s first employees at its Chaska location.
“When we were looking at branching off into the Eden Prairie market, we couldn’t find a spot that really stood out that we wanted,” Mooney said. “I reached out to Don and said, ‘Hey, what would it look like if we did sort of a pop-up at your place — a permanent pop-up to sort of see where the market is, to see where everything goes?'”
Mooney expressed optimism about the collaboration’s prospects.
“I mean, the sky’s the limit,” Mooney said. “We want to see where this goes and what the market of Eden Prairie brings. If it takes off, we would love to have a full third location. But if it doesn’t, this is an inexpensive way to test out the market and see where people are at.”
Red Bench Bakery has received positive customer feedback during its initial weeks in Eden Prairie. Last summer, Mooney noted, the bakery held regular pop-ups at Grace Church every couple of Sundays.
“Since we’re not doing that anymore, we’re having a lot of people come over to Fat Pants after church,” he said.
Mooney said the bakery primarily uses the space at Fat Pants before the brewery opens for the day.
“We’ve had a few people come in and get their coffee and pastry and then sit around until lunchtime and have lunch at Fat Pants,” Mooney said.
To promote the bakery’s new location, Mooney said he has used social media platforms and distributed flyers to local businesses.
“I have done everything I can for this,” he said. “If it succeeds, fantastic. If it doesn’t, I believe the market has spoken.”
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