Walk into Jean's Cakes & Bakery in Menominee, and you’re not sure where to look first. Breads, pies, cakes, cheesecakes, cookies, bars, even giant pretzels. Your eyes widen at the selection and your stomach sends a signal that, yes, it’s time to indulge. You are about to enjoy a delectable treat, whether it’s sweet or savory.
Bakery items on display are the end result of careful planning and early morning work. Jean Moran starts her days at 4 a.m. Tuesdays through Saturday to ensure that cases are stocked by 7 a.m. when the bakery greets its first customers. A colorful pink flag at the entrance marks the parking lot adjacent to the front door located at 532 10
th Ave., flanking Menominee’s scenic downtown district.
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The bakery’s origin dates back to 2012 when Moran worked at The Harbors Retirement Community, 1110 10
th Ave., just a few blocks down the street. There, she turned out meals for the many residents in the facility’s professionally licensed kitchen. She filled custom cake orders on the side, in her own time, using The Harbors’ clean and certified kitchen.
“(My mom)
did both tasks until she left The Harbors to be full-time at our bakery. Her work at The Harbors was manageable until that facility became short staffed, and (she) was stretched pretty thin. She gave the residents high-quality meals while sometimes filling 10 or more cake orders on the weekends,” recalls daughter Cassie Frederiksen, who has teamed with her mother in the bakery operation.
“However, she is like a superwoman and seems to handle any work thrown at her,” adds Frederiksen, who was once a waitress at the former Schloegel's Bay View Restaurant in Menominee, where her mother was a baker.
Moran produced custom cake orders on her own time dating back to when she baked at Schloegel’s Bay View Restaurant. The 61-year-old Moran has been baking cakes her whole life.
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Ann DallmanFrederiksen, 32, started helping with the business about three years ago while Jean was still at The Harbors. “I was in charge of baking all the cakes for our orders and making the frosting. I also handled all the customer ordering exchanges such as Facebook messaging.”
The two women credit their new location to serendipity, after looking for an ideal spot for about a year and a half.
“(My mom) and I were told about the space’s availability by the previous renter. We jumped right on that opportunity as there weren’t any other options at the time. We secured this spot in August 2023 and opened in November 2023. We chose to stay in Menominee because of this available space,” Frederiksen recalls.
The business is self-funded and the two women, both of whom live across the river in Marinette, Wisconsin, note running a brick-and-mortar location is far different than doing a business on the side.
“You are at the mercy of your customers. You have to put aside your own ambitions and do what works for your location and the needs of the community. Items and prices that may work in Chicago don’t work here. Also, being efficient in your business, especially when working with food, is a huge obstacle. Even though we have been open almost a year, we still work every day to become more efficient. Time is money,” Frederiksen says.
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Baking is hard work requiring early hours, stamina, high quality ingredients and – perhaps most importantly – a love for the craft. Frederiksen says her mother has always wanted to have a bakery and that’s why it’s named after her.
“This work comes naturally to her. She can make anything look good, come up with great ideas, and quickly fix mistakes. She already had a customer base and a great reputation. When I was ready to start working again, after staying home with my children for five years, it made sense to join her,” Frederiksen says.
Opening a bakery does mean facing some challenges.
“Getting our name out there and building a reputation. We still find that people are shocked that we’ve been here for almost one year. We now have a radio ad and that has helped spread the word. It’s a challenge trying to build a business and trying to keep things running smoothly. Making changes can suddenly cause chaos that falls directly on my mom and I,” Frederiksen says.
The online website
epos.now backs this up. In an article, Biggest Mistakes When Opening a Bakery: Avoid Costly Errors, it warns of 12 mistakes to avoid. Key among those is underestimating the cost of opening a bakery, not having a solid business plan, not focusing on quality products, and neglecting marketing. Like baking, when starting a business, you need to get the ingredients exactly right.
Some might say that bakery items are affordable luxuries. If so, area customers are buying them. Stand-out items include scones, cakes, cinnamon rolls, gooey butter cakes, breads, cheesecakes, cut-out cookies, and brownies.
“We have a high standard of quality. We never sell day-old bread or pastries as fresh the next day. If an item is day-old, then it is sold at a discounted price. I think what makes us stand out is our variety of items,” Frederiksen says.
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Customer favorites include scones ("because they are not dry") especially raspberry white chocolate and pistachio, almond, caramel apple, etc.
“Our scones were a huge hit immediately. Our breads are getting great compliments as well and sourdough is definitely a trending bread right now. We have had a high demand for gluten-free items since day one. We offer gluten-free brownies and cookies and are working on cakes.”
The mother-daughter team collaborate on recipes, and they’re looking forward to the upcoming holiday season when specialties like cookie platters, Black Forest cakes and pies will be big sellers.
“So far, the holidays have been extremely busy. We always put out special menus and are very excited for Christmas this year.”
Ann Dallman has lifelong roots in Michigan’s UP. She started out as a newspaper reporter/photographer and returned to journalism after retiring from teaching. Her first Middle Grade novel, Cady and the Bear Necklace, received a State History Award (Books/Youth) from the Historical Society of Michigan as well as a Midwest Book Award, New Mexico-Arizona Book Award, was a Next Generation Indie Book Award Finalist and a UP Notable Book. Her second book, Cady and the Birchbark Box, also received the Historical Society of Michigan State Award, is also a UP Notable Book and was a finalist in the New Mexico-Arizona 2023 Book Awards.