Big news in the coffee and bread world: Rustica Bakery is changing hands, and it’s becoming part of the expanding Jester Concepts empire, a change that was far from an overnight deal.
“I love the product, I love the people, this feels really good,” said Brent Frederick, owner of Jester Concepts.
Courtesy of Rustica Bakery
The marriage dates to 2019, when then-Rustica owner Greg Hoyt and Frederick were at a happy hour. “I told him what a big fan I was of Rustica, the quality, the brand. I mentioned if he was ever interested in moving on from it, I wanted to be the first one he contacted,” he told me.
“We actually had a purchase agreement the day the Governor shut down Minnesota at the start of COVID,” said Frederick, and they tabled it during the pandemic. It re-emerged last year and they just got the deal done.
This is about more than the Minneapolis and Southdale/Edina cafes, it also includes the wholesale business. Picture Rustica buns on your Parlour burger. Rustica breads in Butcher and the Boar.
“I was intrigued by the challenge,” Frederick told me. “They just have quality products and great people. It felt like a good fit. So I started digging into this vertical integration for us—they could provide our table bread, they could make our buns, they could do the pastry side. Wouldn’t it be great to have them integrated?”
Shawn McKenzie stays as the executive pastry chef of Rustica Bakery, and joins some real culinary heavy-hitters working at Jester, including Mike DeCamp as a co-owner, Wyatt Evans as culinary director, Kevin Coughenour as assistant, and Jo Garrison and JJ Cachuela, too. “She has a great team, but she’s the glue, the leader, we’ve gotten to know her and she makes a great product,” said Frederick. “We’ve got a lot of firepower.”
Growth plans? Yes. They want more wholesale business—look for more Rustica breads in local restaurants. They can do a pastry program for a coffee shop or restaurant. The cafes will get more savory items to expand the breakfast and lunch options. And then more Rusticas.
“We’re definitely looking in the suburbs,” said Frederick. “We’ll be looking west, northwest, east, we’re open to finding the right location to grow. Ultimately we have to fill a void—if there are bakeries closing in certain markets, we want to come in and provide a quality product,” he said. Frederick wouldn’t name names, but who’s been publicly struggling? Wuollet Bakery, in Wayzata.
Jester has already started integrating Rustica’s baked goods into its existing restaurants, including Butcher & the Boar, P.S. Steak, Borough, Parlour, and Starling.
Courtesy of Rustica Bakery
Greg Hoyt, is a local icon in the coffee world. Hoyt co-founded Dogwood and has been a great steward for Rustica during a wild decade of ups and downs. “A business like Rustica really needs scale in order to thrive,” he said. “Jester has scale and the attention to detail required to maintain all aspects of quality as they continue to grow.” He’ll stay on as a consultant, helping with the coffee program. DeCamp is also a coffee nerd and is excited to dig in to that aspect of the business.
“I now have more time to spend with my grandson!” Hoyt laughed. He’s not retiring: his Gather Venture Group works with Peace Coffee, Nordic Waffles, and Flying Colors Coffee Collective among other brands.
Steve Horton founded Rustica Bakery in 2004 and got national acclaim for his breads. Greg bought it in 2015, it opened in Edina in 2020. 20 years! Quite a run—and it’ll be fun to see what’s next.
