April 30, 2019
Image from HHM Collections
Egekvist Bakeries was a beloved local business for several decades. With bake shops and retail locations all over the Twin Cities, Egekvist became synonymous with Scandinavian desserts. The story of Egekvist Bakeries is told at Hennepin History Museum through this box of chocolates. Long since emptied of its contents, the box is a reminder of an immigrant family’s story of innovation and success in the Twin Cities.
Valdemar A. Egekvist was born in Denmark in 1885 and immigrated to Minnesota in 1904. In 1908, he and his wife opened the very first Egekvist Bakery in Minneapolis on East Franklin Avenue. Valdemar’s brother joined him in 1914 and came to work at the family business. Both brothers were master bakers, having learned from their father in Denmark. Egekvist Bakeries became popular around the Twin Cities, eventually growing to over seventy retail locations.
Valdemar helped pioneer the way bake shops did business. He was one of the first bakers to develop branch retail locations. Egekvist did all its baking in one central location, where quality and uniformity could be controlled. Then the goods were distributed to bake shops and grocery stores. Egekvist’s presence in grocery stores was another innovative merchandising strategy. Beginning in 1948, baked goods were sold under the Egekvist brand in self-service stations within large grocery chains. At the time this was a new concept that proved to extremely successful for the company.
Valdemar passed away in 1958 and passed the business on to his son Christian. According to Christian, his father’s success was simply due to “old fashioned bakemanship and modern merchandising.” Ultimately, he sold the business in the sixties, and eventually the brand disappeared from shelves. Now the Egekvist name lives on in the memories of those where who were lucky enough to enjoy their breads, cakes, pastries, and other treats.
Written by Alyssa Thiede
Sources:
“Egekvist Celebrates 50th Anniversary,” Minneapolis Tribune, November 9, 1958. Star Tribune Archive.
McCarty, Pat. “Merger Plan Announced by Two Bakeries,” Minneapolis Tribune, December 4, 1962. Star Tribune Archive.
Neill, Dave. “Egekvist Business Rises Like Dough,” Minneapolis Star, December 1, 1958. Star Tribune Archive.
This publication was made possible in part by the people of Minnesota through a grant funded by an appropriation to the Minnesota Historical Society from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Any views, findings, opinions, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the State of Minnesota, the Minnesota Historical Society, or the Minnesota Historic Resources Advisory Committee.
