New Wuollet, owner of Grandma's Bakery, in financial difficulty

After decades of establishing bakeries and restaurants in Russia, Eric Shogren began purchasing neighborhood bakeries in his native Twin Cities in 2016, pledging to preserve their family-friendly atmosphere while attracting the next generation of food lovers. treats.

But financial and quality problems have emerged at these businesses, including A Baker's Wife in south Minneapolis, Grandma's Bakery in White Bear Lake and Wuollet Bakery throughout the metro area, including the former Emily's Bakery and Deli in Hastings and Hans' Bakery in Anoka.

The Wayzata Wuollet location, as well as the recently opened Hastings location, closed amid eviction proceedings. A former employee of Grandma's Bakery has filed a lawsuit in Ramsey County District Court alleging a bad paycheck. Meanwhile, customers at several locations have complained that the quality of baked goods has suffered since the change in ownership.

In an interview Tuesday, Shogren said he was working to reopen the Wayzata and Hastings Wuollet bakeries. He claimed he didn't know the details of the Grandma's Bakery pay dispute, but said, “If we have issues like that, everyone still gets paid, of course, fairly.” He largely refuted complaints about quality, saying customers might instead respond to a different range of products than they were accustomed to before purchasing the bakeries.

“We work really hard to make our business successful,” Shogren said. “We’re trying to be part of the solution here.”

Shogren returned to the United States about a decade ago from Russia, where he founded the Kuzina chain of bakeries and cafes and also owned a chain of restaurants selling New York-style pizza. He said Tuesday he still had “interests in Russia” but did not provide details.

Shogren's Twin Cities bakery purchases typically come as longtime owners choose to retire or move on. It purchased 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'.

Complaints about quality have proliferated online, from customer reviews to Reddit posts.

“The selection is very limited and the quality of the items is not the same,” reads a 2017 Tripadvisor review of A Baker's Wife. “We won't come back.”

A 2021 review of Hans' Bakery on the same website said: “It's a huge disappointment to see this local favorite change for the worse.” »

On Reddit, a user wrote in May about the Wuollet on the Minneapolis-Edina border, saying “the food is always good, but the shelves are rarely fully stocked, the back looks messy, the machine coffee cup (is) broken. It looks like a place with cash flow problems.”

Business records filed with the Minnesota Secretary of State show most of the bakeries operate as limited liability companies registered in the names of Shogren and his wife.

Eviction proceedings at Wuollet in Wayzata began in January, when landlord AP Wayzata Village, LLC filed a complaint in Hennepin County District Court alleging tenant Wuollet Bakery Wayzata, LLC had failed to pay $16,393.95 rent. A second filing in March reported $8,101.34 in unpaid rent.

On April 29, according to court records, a Hennepin County sheriff's deputy left the scene, “placing plaintiff in peaceful possession of said property.”

Wuollet's landlord in Hastings, Hastings Midtown LLC, filed an eviction action in Dakota County in April and then filed a lawsuit in Hennepin County in May. The suit, which names Wuollet Bakery Hastings LLC, Eric Shogren and Olga Shogren as defendants, seeks $858,879.19 in rent and other fees owed, plus accelerated future rent under the 10-year lease. This case remains open.

Also in April, the former Grandma's Bakery employee alleged in conciliation court that Shogren owed $1,180.93 in unpaid individual wages.

“My salary is uncollectible because my former employer has no money in his bank account,” wrote the former employee, who contacted the court on April 30 in an attempt to dismiss the case after settlement. The employee did not respond to a request for comment.

Attorneys for both owners also did not respond to requests for comment.

Shogren said he is working with property owners in Wayzata and Hastings to find a solution. Although the plan is to reopen both bakeries in their current locations, he said, the Wayzata bakery could move elsewhere in the neighborhood.

“Communities want and deserve good bakeries and good local businesses,” he said.