COLD SPRING — Cold Spring Bakery has been a stalwart in central Minnesota for 78 years.
This small bakery opened in Cold Spring in 1946 by Mel and Floss Schulman after he served in the Navy as a baker in World War II. The bakery moved to a larger location in 1949 and continued to grow with additions in 1965, 1971, 1985 and 2000.
And over the past few years, the bakery has continued to grow and expand. In 2013, they opened a second location, Cold Spring Bakery Connection, in Waite Park. Cold Spring Bakery products are also sold in stores across central Minnesota.
Find out how Cold Spring Bakery has reached new heights over the past 78 years.
Macy Moore/West Central Tribune
After running the business for 40 years, Mel and Floss sold it to their sons, Brian and Dale Schurman, and their daughter-in-law, Lynn Schurman, who is married to Dale.
When the second generation took over in 1986, Lynn Schurman said there was a concentrated effort to expand into wholesale, which included introducing products to grocery and convenience stores in central Minnesota.
“As we grew, we continued to add more stores,” she said.
The efforts paid off and the results were even better.
According to Shulman, the bakery supplies fresh bread to more than 25 stores within a 100-mile radius. The bakery's delivery area stretches from North Randall (about 50 miles north in Morrison County) to South Lester Prairie (60 miles south in McLeod County).
Macy Moore/West Central Tribune
“There are a lot of little mom-and-pop businesses in Stearns County, Morrison County and various towns south of here,” Schurman said.
The expansion into wholesale led to a new venture, the opening of a second store, Cold Spring Bakery Connection, in Waite Park, with fresh bread arriving by 7 a.m. each day.
“It's stable over there. We want to grow our business so we're always looking at different ways to do things over there,” Schurman said. “Obviously, there's been a lot of changes and comings and goings in St. Cloud and Waite Park.
“Our business is stable, but we'd like to grow it a little bit more.”
Macy Moore/West Central Tribune
Lynn Schurman said that by the time their parents left the business in 1986, the Schurman brothers had plenty of experience in the bakery industry.
“All of the kids started helping out as soon as they were tall enough to reach the countertops. They have stories of washing pans and helping out with different things when they were little,” she said.
Dale and his daughter, Andrea, are now executive managers of the bakery, Schurman said.
“My kids kind of grew up here,” Schurman said. “My daughter kind of took over her father's role.”
Macy Moore/West Central Tribune
Macy Moore/West Central Tribune
As a full-service bakery, Cold Spring Bakery has a little bit of everything, Schulman said: breads and rolls, cakes and cupcakes, cookies, croissants, doughnuts and rolls, muffins, pies, wedding cakes and more.
Popular items include mocha squares, custard-filled long johns, apple pockets and raised doughnuts.
“Everyone has their favorites, and that's good because we have a variety of products,” she said.
Macy Moore/West Central Tribune
what: Cold Spring Bakery has two locations.
- Cold Spring: The main location is 308 Main Street.
- Waite Park: Cold Spring Bakery Connection, located at 103 Second St S.
Find bakery products:
coldspringbakery.com/Find a location
Facebook:
tinyurl.com/coldspringbakery
Macy Moore/West Central Tribune
Trent Abrego is a business reporter for St. Cloud LIVE and can be reached at trent@stcloudlive.com.
