BP loses, Austin gains Boujee Bagels
Ashlyn Garcia, left, Trisha Tietje, and Alaris McCord take a break during the final day of business at Boujee Bagels and Coffee in Blooming Prairie. Tietje is opening a new Boujee Bagels at 1906 Eighth St. NW in Austin. Staff photo by Kay Fate
Just six months after talking of expanding Boujee Bagels & Coffee Co. to Austin, Trisha Tietje is doing just that – but is leaving her original shop behind.
“I think that we had good support and a decent following from Blooming Prairie,” she said, “but it’s just really tough. We squeaked down as much as we could.”
When Tietje and her daughter, Alaris McCord, opened their café last spring, they hoped the location on U.S. Highway 218 would lend itself not only to local business, but to travelers.
It served them well with their bagel sandwich offerings, custom gourmet doughnuts and original drink options, especially throughout the summer.
In the fall, though, business slowed dramatically.
“We knew we had to open somewhere else, or we wouldn’t make it,” Tietje said. When a building equipped for her needs opened in Austin, she took the step.
For a while, she said, “we weren’t sure” if it would be a secondary location – or a replacement.
“It was such a roller coaster ride,” Tietje said. “We didn’t plan this; nobody ever spends all their money to open a business … just to close it.
“I thought I could get enough people to come to us,” she said of the Blooming Prairie spot. “I really believed that we could do that. We have a ton of customers from Austin, and they’re telling us they want our bagels there.”
The opening of their new shop at 1906 Eighth St. NW is “completely dependent on the Minnesota Department of Health,” Tietje said. “As soon as they give us the green light, we’ll be ready to go.”
The last day of business in Blooming Prairie was Jan. 11.
Gift cards from the original store may be used at the new location and “anything we’ve served here, we wish to serve there,” Tietje said. “We hope to continue the same great things we’ve been doing – and grow that. Greater expansion in the future is never out of the question.”
Still, she said, it was a difficult decision.
“Life is full of journeys you have to take, and they’re not all easy,” she said. “This was the hardest few months of our lives, but we learned a lot here, and for that, we’re grateful.”
Just six months after talking of expanding Boujee Bagels & Coffee Co. to Austin, Trisha Tietje is doing just that – but is leaving her original shop behind.
“I think that we had good support and a decent following from Blooming Prairie,” she said, “but it’s just really tough. We squeaked down as much as we could.”
When Tietje and her daughter, Alaris McCord, opened their café last spring, they hoped the location on U.S. Highway 218 would lend itself not only to local business, but to travelers.
It served them well with their bagel sandwich offerings, custom gourmet doughnuts and original drink options, especially throughout the summer.
In the fall, though, business slowed dramatically.
“We knew we had to open somewhere else, or we wouldn’t make it,” Tietje said. When a building equipped for her needs opened in Austin, she took the step.
For a while, she said, “we weren’t sure” if it would be a secondary location – or a replacement.
“It was such a roller coaster ride,” Tietje said. “We didn’t plan this; nobody ever spends all their money to open a business … just to close it.
“I thought I could get enough people to come to us,” she said of the Blooming Prairie spot. “I really believed that we could do that. We have a ton of customers from Austin, and they’re telling us they want our bagels there.”
The opening of their new shop at 1906 Eighth St. NW is “completely dependent on the Minnesota Department of Health,” Tietje said. “As soon as they give us the green light, we’ll be ready to go.”
The last day of business in Blooming Prairie was Jan. 11.
Gift cards from the original store may be used at the new location and “anything we’ve served here, we wish to serve there,” Tietje said. “We hope to continue the same great things we’ve been doing – and grow that. Greater expansion in the future is never out of the question.”
Still, she said, it was a difficult decision.
“Life is full of journeys you have to take, and they’re not all easy,” she said. “This was the hardest few months of our lives, but we learned a lot here, and for that, we’re grateful.”