Located 80 miles south of Grand Forks, Fargo is the most populous city in North Dakota. With so many people living here, you’d expect an abundance of places that offer sweet treats, like there are in Grand Forks — and you would be right! If you find yourself craving some delicious pastries, check out one of these Fargo-area bakeries.
Jen’s Bakery
More than a decade ago, Jen Woinarowicz began selling jumbo cookies and Italian herb cheese bread at local markets and garnered wholesale accounts under the name Jen’s Breads. She opened a retail spot in 2018 and renamed it Jen’s Bakery. Today you’ll not only find mouth-watering breads and cookies, but also salads, sandwiches, and savory quiches.
Jen prepares her bread dough on baking stones, and the loaves are baked in a self-created steam oven like you’d find in large-scale bakeries. There are more than a dozen cookie varieties to choose from, including the best-selling salted caramel dark chocolate, gluten-free monster, peanut butter cup, red velvet, and root beer float.
Jen’s Bakery, which is located at at 5050 Timber Parkway Suite 108, is open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Saturday from 9 a.m. until 2:30 p.m.
Love in the Oven Bakery
Casey Steele opened her bakery, which can be found at 1407 First Avenue North, in 2010, and she prides herself on being a small business owner who makes everything fresh at this made-to-order bakery. She insists on using high-quality ingredients and adding homemade touches to create delicious baked goods. Because of her dedication to minimizing her environmental impact, she sources local ingredients whenever possible and uses unbleached, biodegradable bakery boxes, and baked goods are delivered in a hybrid vehicle.
The extensive menu includes cookies, bars, breads, scones, cakes, cheesecakes, and cake bites. These cake bites, which include cake and frosting rolled together and dipped in chocolate or vanilla, are a bakery specialty. If you have gluten issues, the bakery has a half-dozen baked goods available, such as lemon bars, peanut butter banana cookies, and frosted brownies.
Mehl’s Gluten-Free Bakery
By late-2009, all five of the Mehl siblings had been diagnosed with celiac disease. Because they were dissatisfied with the available gluten-free flour options, they started experimenting with ways to improve all-purpose gluten-free flour. As a result, in 2013 the family formed Mehl’s Gluten-Free Flour Company and its offshoot, Mehl’s Gluten-Free Bakery, which is located at 1404 33rd Avenue Suite H.
Head into the bakery and try one of their made-from-scratch gluten-free breads, muffins, cookies, cakes, and cupcakes. You can also order a meal on Monday through Saturday between 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. Another choice is to pick up a frozen thick- or thin-crust take-and-bake pizza. If you prefer to prepare your own bakery items, visit the bakery’s website, where you can find dozens of recipes that use gluten-free bread.
Nichole’s Fine Pastry and Cafe
As the head chef and founder of Nichole’s Fine Pastry and Cafe, North Dakota-native Nichole Hensen was inspired by her travels and experiences while attending the Culinary Institute of America in California. She came back home and opened a bakery in downtown Fargo in 2003. Her bakery, which is located at 13 South Eighth Street, is open Tuesday through Saturday from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m.
Nichole specializes in traditional European and classic American favorites, and most of the items on her menu are made from scratch with local ingredients. You’ll find plenty of French-inspired food and beverages, including French pressed coffee, croissants, and gelato. The eclairs are filled with vanilla bean pastry cream and topped with a chocolate ganache, and her Neapolitans have layers of puff pastry, apricot preserves, and cream glazed with fondant. If you’re craving a pie, the bakery has a handful of flavors, including sour cream raisin, butterscotch cream, and lemon meringue.
Sour House Breads
Begun by native North Dakotan baker Loni Larson, Sour House Breads, which is located at 2010 Elm Street North, highlights the science and art needed to make sourdough bread. Loni’s breads combine the use of her own starter, which is approximately five years old, and a starter from Italy that is more than a century old. She and her family make each handmade loaf with just three ingredients — salt, water, and flour — and they follow a process that takes more than 48 hours to complete.
This home-based micro-bakery mills its own flour using grain from local sources. Since stone milling doesn’t strip away the bran and germ of wheat berry that you’ll find with industrial roller mills, the nutrients are preserved. They also use a stone hearth oven to produce high-quality loaves of bread. Come on in and try the Kalamata Olive, Blue Cornmeal, or Rye Chocolate Cherry.
Yeobo Sweet Shop
Located at 408 Broadway North in historic downtown Fargo, Yeobo Sweet Shop strives to create a location that will give you sweet memories. “Yeobo” is a term of endearment in Korean that means “honey” or “sweetheart,” and true to its name, you’ll find a wall of more than 60 different types of gummy candies, as well as an assortment of lollipops and giant jawbreakers.
Perhaps the best part of this location is its gourmet cupcakes, which are available upon request. They have more than two dozen varieties of cupcakes that are made from scratch with natural ingredients. Some of the most popular choices are Lavender Ginger Honey, Salted Chocolate Caramel, and Banana Split. There are also three flavors that are infused with alcohol: Irish Creme, Man Cake, and Margarita. If you’re concerned about gluten, they also offer gluten-free cupcakes.
By now, you’re likely craving some pastries around Fargo. What do you think of this list of bakeries provided by Rydell Outlet Center? Would you prefer to see just donuts shops in Fargo? We have that too! Did we point out the best sweet spots, or did we miss one? If we forgot one, reach out to us and let us know. We want everyone to know which locally owned and operated bakeries they should visit!
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