Sioux Falls, South Dakota – It’s common to see a few lemonade stands pop up here and there during the summer, but what about bakery stands?
Meikamp Brothers Bakery and Co. debuted this spring along the side of Slip Up Creek Road in Sioux Falls, but they are now also available at the Lake Lorraine Farmer’s Market. It all started with a dream that some young boys had.
“So, I work for a family-owned business who’s been making pastry dough and frozen pastries for 30 years and so I do all their marketing,” Savannah Meikamp told me. “My boys have been eating their pastries for years, but no one in town has tried them. So, it was my children’s idea to open a bakery. They wanted to open a bake stand on the side of our road with the pastries.”
The brothers behind the stand are 7-year-old Ryver, 5-year-old Miles, and nearly 2-year-old Ollie, and while they were camera shy, Miles did share his favorite pastry they sell.
“The cinnamon rolls,” Miles explained.
It seems to be a customer favorite. However, it was the chocolate croissant that flew off the shelves within the first 15 minutes of the farmer’s market’s opening.
“It kind of blew up more than I was expecting that people to try some different like unique pastries that you don’t get to really try every day,” Savannah Meikamp told me. “Things like palmiers, chocolate croissants or ‘doughssants’, and pop tarts. So, people now have the opportunity to try new, clean-label pastries that are unique to Sioux Falls. So, I believe they have been excited about that.”
Mom Savannah says her boys have enjoyed watching their little bakery grow.
“They started with one of our end tables in our driveway sitting out there and waving down the cars as they’ve gone by to now getting to see us sell out, you know, quite frequently here at the farmer’s market,” Savannah Meikamp told me. “So it’s been fun. We were just casually discussing, like, “Ryver, what are your top three moments in your life so far?” and he said, “I think the day we started the bake stand.” So I was like, “Awww, we’ve got to keep going.”
When it comes to the stand’s operations, mom does the baking, but the boys have also learned a lot.
“I really want to instill in my kids good financial habits and so, when they do make money from the bakery, they have to save half of it, half goes to spending,” Savannah Meikamp told me. “And if they don’t want to work and help me with the pastries that day, they won’t be paid. Alternatively, if they want to save for something, they must do so with their own money. So, just different ways that we’ve taught them how to manage their finances, even from a young age, has been beneficial in my experience and enjoyable to teach them.
Perhaps more importantly, they are learning how to follow their dreams.
“I always wanted them to know and to experience that they can do anything they set their mind to, regardless of the work it takes to get there,” Savannah Meikamp told me. “So, for them to see how it’s evolved and progressed from when it’s storming, raining, or there’s no one coming by and feeling like we should just give up, that’s been huge. And they’re just seeing the evolution of how a business can be built without giving up.”
Meikamp Brothers Bakery no longer accepts drive-up orders at their Slip Up Creek Road location; however, you can place pre-orders for pickup there on Fridays and Saturdays, or at the Lake Lorraine Farmer’s Market on Thursdays.
