Stillwater’s Sara’s Bake Shop, the hometown pie shop known for its Tipsy Pies, is boxing up its Fourth Street counter and heading a few blocks over into a bigger home inside Brine’s Market & Deli. Owner Sara Hayden is shifting retail operations from the cozy standalone storefront into a larger in-store pastry case at Brine’s while hanging on to her custom cakes, catering business, and those signature hand pies. A moving party is set for July 11, and Brine’s expects the full Sara’s lineup to hit the shelves inside the market on July 14.
Brine’s Buys The Bakery And Builds A Bigger Pastry Case
As announced by Brine's Market & Deli, the family-owned store has acquired Sara’s Bake Shop and is adding an expanded bakery area with a full-service pastry case, fresh coffee, and more specialty desserts. “We’re preserving everything you love about both businesses while creating something truly special,” Brine’s owner Scot DeStasio said in the post. The company invited customers to a send-off on July 11 and noted that Sara’s products will begin appearing in Brine’s on July 14.
Storefront To Close As Small Baking Team Moves In
As reported by Pioneer Press, Hayden will close the Sara’s Bake Shop storefront on Fourth Street and move her operation, along with several employees, into the market’s back-of-house bakery. The Twin Cities story lays out a fast turnaround for the transition and notes that Brine’s is buying the business as part of the change. Customers are being encouraged to swing by the moving party on July 11 to say goodbye before the storefront shutters that evening.
State Fair Demand Keeps The Ovens Roaring
“I have 7,700 pies ready and 2,200 more to make,” Hayden told Pioneer Press. The Minnesota State Fair demand, where Sara’s Tipsy Pies have been reported to sell up to 1,000 pies in a single day, helps explain why the bakery has been hunting for a larger production and retail space. Moving into Brine’s gives Hayden room to scale up without giving up the custom orders and classes regulars have come to expect.
What Stays The Same: Catering, Classes And Custom Orders
Sara's Bake Shop lists catering, custom desserts and hands-on classes, and the bakery’s online menu includes wedding and corporate catering options alongside pies and pastries. The collaboration shifts the baking operation into a grocery setting with more capacity while keeping Sara’s hands-on events and wedding services in the mix. The Agricultural Utilization Research Institute has profiled Sara’s growth from a State Fair vendor into a regional brand, underscoring why the business needs more room to stretch.
Neighbors Get Easier Access To Pies
Brine's Market & Deli framed the acquisition as a way to bring five local Readers’ Choice awards under one roof and turn the store into a one-stop spot for meats, deli favorites and now Sara’s pies. Customers can look forward to a larger pastry case, fresh coffee and expanded pickup options for catering orders, the market said. For fans of the bakery, the move should translate into easier access to Sara’s hand pies without losing the maker’s personal touch.
Anyone who misses the July 11 moving party can find Sara’s pies inside Brine’s beginning July 14. Hayden says the shift gives her enough breathing room to meet State Fair demand while keeping the focus on custom orders, classes and holiday specialties.
