Pine River Bakery: Find Your Happy Donuts Here

WHO:	Pine River Bakery
BUSINESS TYPE:	Bakery
SIGNATURE PRODUCTS:	Sawdust RollSw Apple Fritters, Chicken Wild Rice Soup
WHERE: IN-PERSON: WEBSITE:	Pine River Open Tuesday-Saturday from 6am-2pm https://www.facebook.com/Pine.River.Bakery

 

By Michelle M. Sharp, Founder and Content Creator of Meet the Minnesota Makers

“We have a family tradition of being known as good cooks,” shares Kristy Miller of Pine River Bakery in Pine River, part of the Brainerd Lakes Area. “Taking ownership of the town’s bakery gives us the chance to share our love for food with our community.”

Pine River Bakery is a cozy oasis that beckons you to imagine your dessert possibilities with inviting glass cases filled with breads, cookies and donuts of every shape shape and size. The air is rich with a delectable combination of yeasty warmth and house made soups.

Community Connections

The bakery’s mission is to be a community gathering space, a welcoming environment known for its customer service and the family cooking gene. “I get to make people in our town happy every day,” smiles Kristy. “We are so grateful for the local support we receive.” 

Whether for special occasions or a quick weekday lunch, Pine River Bakery has you covered. Lunch specials change every month. There’s biscuits with gravy on Saturdays. Two soups—one rotating and their signature chicken wild rice—and fresh made deli sandwiches are always available. 

Their donut menu ranges from the fairly tame pink frosted Homer variety to the stuffed key lime made famous by Kara Johnson’s Donut Odyssey. The apple fritter and sawdust donuts are heirloom recipes shared with Kristy from when the bakery was known as Al’s. The sawdust, the name inspired by employees at a local factory, is a fried sweet roll topped with buttercream frosting. The special salt, oat, and sugar topping gives the treat a nuanced flavor and its distinctive appearance. 

A Love of Good Food and Good People

Before owning the Pine River Bakery, Kristy was the food service director at nearby Trout Lake Camp. Her husband Brian Chaffee is a chef. The bakery had been for sale for awhile. Given their mutual love of food and their community, “It felt really important to us to keep the tradition of our small town bakery alive,” explains Kristy. “As a bonus, my five grandkids are very excited that grandma owns a bakery. Definite win for them. All the kids make sure to find out which donuts is their teachers’ favorite. We’re always happy to share with our local schools.” 

Kristy herself doesn’t have much of a sweet tooth. Her greatest temptation in store is their cranberry wild rice bread. When paired with their chicken salad, it’s simply perfect. 

Her favorite part of owning the bakery is knowing that she brings joy to the community. Their unofficial motto is “happy donuts.” How can anyone possibly be cranky while sitting down with a fresh treat made on site? 

Kristy’s greatest joy in owning the bakery is getting to work with her family every day. Kristy typically works overnight preparing everything on site for their customers. Her daughter Amy is the day manager. Having worked in customer service her whole life, creating the bakery’s warm customer experience was a perfect fit for Amy, “We hand pick our crew to be able to provide the quality of product and experience that we want everyone to have in store. It’s as simple as treating others as you want to be treated. Can’t do better than that.” 

Donut Goodness

Our family tried six sweet treats: the raspberry Bismarck, key lime Bismarck, Homer donut, salted nut roll donut, the sawdust, and the fried croissant. We found the mix of sweet and salty elements on the sawdust and salted nut roll donuts to be especially yummy. The fried croissant is rich with buttery goodness. The filled donuts have bright flavors that are true to their fruit. The pillowy yeast exteriors yield to gentle pressure for a delicious bite or breaking off a piece to share. The Homer donut was my youngest kiddo’s favorite. It’s a classic balance of the ideal yeast donut with a bright pink frosting with sprinkles. Like I said, there’s something here for everyone. 

We took a quart of Italian wedding and a quart of Chicken wild rice soup home for dinner. Both soups boasted a rich broth and were packed with meat and veggies. I love that the chicken wild rice soup is part of the daily menu, ready first thing in the morning. The second soup changes daily within each month’s specials. The love of food and a desire to share their family’s reputation of being a good cook came through with every bite. 

Go Get Your Donuts!

Pine River Bakery is open Tuesday through Saturday from 6am-2pm at 215 Barclay Avenue in Pine River. Keep up with their current specials through their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Pine.River.Bakery 

Special requests? Call (218) 587-1121 or email prbakery56474@gmail.com. 

Visit meettheminnesotamakers.com or follow @meettheminnesotamakers on Facebook and Instagram to discover the small business owners leading Minnesota on a tasty sustainable path forward. Meet the Minnesota Makers is a news site that connects you to the local food, farms, artists and artisans that make Minnesota thrive.

Thank you to Erica Meitz of Heath’s Resort in Pine River for the introduction to Pine River Bakery. Small business owners have the best recommendations for other small businesses you should know!