Bakery has come a long way in 20 years

By Barbara Brown
For 20 years, Bob and Mary Koep have watched the view of downtown North Branch from their store-front window change dramatically as the landscape of Main Street evolved.
Now, just as when it opened in 1983, Koepís Village Bakery is known as a gathering place of friends and family.
Mary Koep said one of the most enjoyable aspects of owning the only bakery in North Branch is the people she has met.
ìWeíve met a lot of nice people and weíve become friends,î Mary Koep said. ìWeíve seen families grow up. The customers who were children when we opened are all grown up.î
Koep said she enjoys sharing pictures of her granddaughter with customers ñ friends, really ñ that have since become grandparents as well.

Good times and rough ones
The joys of developing relationships in town have also come with a fair share of tough times, Bob Koep said.
ìThere was a time when downtown was really busy,î he said as he looked from his seat on a stool at the counter that looks out onto Main Street through a wall of glass.
Koep described Main Street in the 1980s as a businessmanís ideal location. He said dress shops, a mercantile and a five-and-dime once graced the spaces, their signs beckoning shoppers to spend their money locally.
ìNo one ever went to the cities to do their shopping,î Koep said. ìThey got everything they needed right here.î
The decline in patronizing local businesses has led to a slower business pace in downtown North Branch.
No longer does the mercantile or Livery Stable Mall cater to residents, but they tend to drive to parts of Isanti, Washington and Anoka counties to buy their goods.
Bob Koep said the decline is one part of owning the bakery he doesnít like to dwell on.
The bakeryís fresh breads, pastries and other goodies ñ baked on-site every day ñ are better quality, fresher and less expensive than most national brands, Koep said.
ìPart of it is the busy people who go to the grocery store to get their milk decide they might as well get their bread in one trip as well instead of coming to the local bakery.î
Koep said 32 small town bakeries in Minnesota closed within the last two years.
ìItís becoming something thatís being overtaken by the big grocery stores and the chain stores,î he said. ìThatís sad. When you can just walk around the corner to the bakery and get the loaf of fresh bread you need.î

A look back
The Koeps met in the 1970s when both were working at Braunís Bakery in Alexandria.
Bob Koep was a donut frier and Mary worked the front of the store helping customers.
They married and started a family while in Alexandria, the family growing to include three children by 1983.
That year, the couple found a small town bakery that was for sale in North Branch by Jerry and Karen Olson, who had run Olsonís Village Bakery for five years.
Before that, the Olsons had bought the bakery from Cy and Lois Stevens.
Cy Stevens had built the building that houses the bakery in 1953 and had run the bakery himself for many years.
ìWe moved here with no family, no friends,î Bob Koep recalled. ìItís been a good move. Itís been a good town.î
Bob and Mary Koep bought the bakery, renamed it and got to work.
ìWe were nervous, but everything moved so fast we didnít have time to think about it,î Mary Koep said.
ìWe moved here one day and we were at work the next day.î
The Koeps had a fourth child after the bakery had been open a couple years.
ìNow the youngest is graduating from high school,î Mary Koep reflected. ìWhere has all that time gone? I just donít know.î
The couple have kept basically the same schedule they had when Koeps Village Bakery first opened ñ with Mary arriving before 6 a.m. to get everything set up and coffee brewing and Bob arriving later in the afternoon to run the store until late into the night when he prepared the next dayís offerings.
When the Koeps first started the ovens at their own bakery, bread sold for 39 cents a loaf.
That price has only gone up less than a dollar ñ to $1.44 ñ in 20 years.
While many business owners hold a certain amount of modesty about their successes, Bob Koep isnít shy when it comes to boasting about his kolaches.
ìThereís no question; my kolaches are the best you will find anywhere,î Koep said of the fruit-filled and iced pastries that have become a customer favorite.
Other popular confections include the Lady Baltimore recipe wedding cake, apple fritters and bismarks.

Counter Guys
Walk by Koeps Village Bakery between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. or between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. and youíre sure to spot a few of the group that has come to be known as the ìCounter Guysî to the Koeps and many people in town.
A group of men and women who stop in for a cup (or two or three) of Koeps fresh-brewed coffee have spent the past several years bonding with each other, sharing their life stories in bits and pieces and taking every opportunity possible to pass around barbs.
Every day they throw dice to see who collects the money for the bill and pays.
Although itís a game of fun, the dice rolling has become historical record. Butch Olson, who has been sitting on his stool at the counter practically every day since the 1970s, keeps meticulous notes in a spiral-bound pad on who ìwinsî each day.
Everett Nelson, who just turned 90, makes his daily trips for his cup of coffee and visits with his friends.
The rest of the Counter Guys agreed he had been making regular stops at the bakery ìfor eternity.î
The recognized and lauded founder of the Counter Guys has been going to the bakery for about 30 years.

It all comes together at the end
Despite the tough times, the Koeps are pleased with the mark they have made in North Branch.
ìWas it a good move to come here and do this? Was it worth it? Yes,î Bob Koep said.
The Koeps donít have a definitive plan for the future of the bakery, but they expect to stick around North Branch ñ as long as those friends who have since become family continue to patronize the store.
ìWe take it one day at a time,î Mary Koep said, ìand we hope for the best.î

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