An entirely vegan and gluten-free bakery will hold pop-up shops in Missoula the next seven Saturdays. You could say the one-of-a-kind bakery all started with a craving.
“There was a night when we were out, and we were still kind of relatively new in town and I really wanted a vegan donut, and there just wasn't anywhere to get one,” said Beth Gherlein.
Gherlein and her husband relocated to Missoula ten years ago. She’s a vegan and he’s gluten intolerant.
They were disappointed in the limited options they had for sweet treats when they moved to town, and they soon realized they weren’t the only ones.
“Everyone told us, ‘No, we don't have that, but if you started a business people would love it.’”
Gherlein and her husband/business partner spent the following winter trialing gluten-free and vegan recipes in their kitchen and having friends test the finished products.
With a little money they had saved, the duo secured a booth at the Clark Fork Farmers Market the following summer.
“We both had day jobs and my husband was in grad school, so we would stay up all night Friday night and then, you know, just bedraggled, we’d go to the market and it was crazy, but we did really well,” said Gherlein.
The farmers market booth was a major success and launched them into yet another phase of their gluten-free and vegan business venture. Now, they sell their baked goods at grocery stores, coffee shops, and restaurants throughout the region.
But Tandem Doughnuts & Bakery, as they’ve been named, doesn't have a space of its own. They operate out of an extra kitchen at a local hotel.
“It's tiny, it's a closet-sized space and we've utterly maxed it out.”
Their dream is to one day own their own retail space, eventually turning their side gig into an operation that can fully support their family.
Thanks to a collaboration with Nonna’s Neighborhood Eatery, they get a taste of that dream the next seven Saturdays.
Located in the University District, Nonna’s Neighborhood Eatery is temporarily closed. In the meantime, Nonna’s is handing over the keys, and renting its space to Tandem Bakery for what they’re calling pop-up shops.
“It's a good deal for us, it definitely helps us out, and it means that for the first time ever, we have this opportunity to sell things directly to people in a retail space.”
Tandem Bakery will offer a rotating menu the next seven Saturdays. Their cupcakes, donuts, cakes, and even pies are all gluten-free and vegan. You can find them at Nonna’s on Saturdays from 8am to 2pm, or online at https://www.tandemdoughnuts.com/
