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Nov 22, 2009 11:14 pm US/Central
Finding Minnesota: Pre-Order Thanksgiving
RICE COUNTY, Minn. (WCCO) ―
With Thanksgiving just days away, some families are frantically working
to pull the housecleaning, shopping and cooking together.
A big meal can be a big chore, unless you have some help. However, a
new business in Scott County is making baking much easier for families
across the metro.
What would the holidays be without the grocery shopping? It would probably be a lot more fun. U-Bake is a store where all the hard prep work has been done. All that is required is turning on the oven.
Donna Buchanan lives in Eden Prairie and shops at the store regularly.
"'Cause I can bake it myself at home, heat up the oven, have the aroma, have the heat come in the house. It feels like it's homemade," said Buchanan.
U-Bake, located in a shopping center along County Road 42 in Savage, is new to Minnesota. It started in Wisconsin 15 years ago, but just opened in the Twin Cities in April.
Terry Gutowski owns U-Bake.
"It started out with cinnamon rolls as the main concept and then it branched out from there with cookie dough and bread doughs and then we got into spices and everything that comes with successful baking," said Gutowski.
The store keeps the costs down by buying everything in bulk.
The store features all kinds of frozen foods and pastries that are ready to be baked, at great prices.
The cookie dough comes in creative flavors like key lime white chocolate chip.
The dinner rolls also come in many different shapes and sizes. Then there are the cakes and pies.
"We hear that same thing all the time," said Gutowski. "They love to bake but don't want to start from scratch and spend the whole day in the kitchen. Coming to U-Bake still gives you those warm fresh smells in your kitchen and all the things that people love about it, but it's a 15 to 20 minute process rather than a 3, 4 or 6-hour ordeal."
The spices are a steal. They are in large containers at prices far lower than what can be found in many grocery stores.
Gutowski said he orders the spices weekly from a Mennonite family in Wisconsin that are pre-packaged, labeled and weighed in advance.
There are also a wide selection of gluten-free products: frozen breads, desserts and snacks.
Workers at the store are hopeful the holidays, and the baking that typically goes along with them, will boost sales in November and December.
The owner is considering opening more U-Bake stores in Minnesota if things go well.
U-Bake also sells pre-made soup mixes, snacks and salsas.
A percentage of store sales go to "Wishes and More," a charity that helps kids in Minnesota who are terminally ill.
For more information about U-Bake, just head
here.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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