Pictured is Marie Kirsch, owner of Knotty Pine Bakery. From a cottage food venture to a business competition winner to a brick and mortar location in Downtown Brainerd, Marie has built a beautiful business born from a family tradition of baking.
What’s your Brainerd story? Are you from here or how did you land here?
I grew up north of Duluth, but my mom was from the Brainerd area and we spent a lot of our summers visiting my grandparents and spending time out on the lakes and doing fun touristy stuff like going to the OG Paul Bunyan Land. After living in the Twin Cities and Chicago for several years after college, I decided I wanted to start my own business and decided to relocate to the area to try to start a bakery.
How & when did Knotty Pine Bakery begin?
I moved to Brainerd in 2014, and started a Cottage Food business baking out of my home kitchen and selling at local farmers markets. In 2018, I applied for and won the Destination Downtown Brainerd business competition, and was able to open my storefront business the following fall.
What is your inspiration for Knotty Pine Bakery?
All of my favorite memories seem to involve either making or enjoying food with family and close friends–I love being able to create something out of simple ingredients and turn it into something that can be shared and help connect us to those we care about.
What do you want people to know about the bakery?
We offer weekly specials including our Tuesday “Coffee Break” from 10-12, where you get a free coffee with purchase, and on Fridays, you can come in for our Cookie “Happy Hour” for BOGO chocolate chip cookies. We also offer a walk-in cookie workshop at least once a month, which is a fun, easy way to learn how to decorate with royal icing. We try to be involved in the community and offer fun events and specials to go along with all the yummy treats we carry in our bakery case on a daily basis.
How do you decide what to put out on your retail counter?
Getting to test and come up with new recipes and designs is a fun creative outlet for me and my staff. Each month we put out a new cupcake flavor, and try to take inspiration from the season or what we like personally to create something special. This month we are celebrating Easter (and my love of Almond Joy candy bars) with our “Hoppy Cocoa-Nut” cupcake, which features our rich chocolate cake topped with coconut buttercream and sweetened coconut flakes, and garnished with a milk chocolate Easter egg candy.
What makes your products unique and or special?
We try to offer familiar favorites with a bit of a twist and made with exceptional skill and craftsmanship to ensure it is the best thing you have ever eaten. For example, our award-winning GOAT (Greatest-Of-All-Time) Blueberry Pie from this year’s Taste of the Lakes featured our homemade blueberry filling inside our rich, butter pie pastry, topped with chèvre (fancy word for Goat Cheese) whipped cream, and a pie crust cookie on top. This recipe was inspired by my Grandma Joy, who when eating pie, always loaded it up with a mile-high dollop of whipped cream, and who also never let her scrap pie dough go to waste, baking it up with cinnamon-sugar on top as an extra treat for the bakers to enjoy before serving the finished pie to guests.
What is your background in the food industry?
My very first job as a 14-year old was dishwashing at pie shop, where I was eventually promoted to baker’s assistant, and then, baker, working there through high school until I left for college. Today, I still love to make pie, and I also make sure to tell all my new dish crew staff that they hold the most important job in the bakery, because even the most talented baker in the world can’t do much without clean tools.
Do you have any plans that you want to share with us?
We are excited to be launching a second location in Downtown Nisswa starting this summer. We will be offering an expanded bakery menu along with a full coffee bar – look for us in the courtyard area next to Rafferty’s Pizza in Downtown Nisswa!
What are some of your favorite things to do in Brainerd/Baxter with guests from out of town?
Shopping+Lunch in Downtown Brainerd and a photo op with Waabigwan Babe. Picnic at Gregory Park. Swimming at Whipple Beach!
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