Sugar, spice and everything nice: How SBA helped a local Minnesota Bakery thrive

Anne Andrus has always had a passion for creating and food, and she realized early on that she could have the best of both worlds. Andrus established Honey and Rye, a Minnesota-based bakery and bread house, in 2007. She fell in love with the magic of creating delicious baked goods from scratch and being able to bring together individual ingredients to make something tasty and wonderful.  

“Taking eggs and flour and butter and sugar and having croissants... is really neat to me,” Andrus said.  

SBA has been able to provide assistance throughout Honey and Rye’s history. Andrus shared that SBA’s assistance has been fundamental in both establishing and growing her business. She received SBA business training through the SCORE program, which helped her start her business. Andrus’ initial vision was to create a food truck, but after receiving SCORE mentoring, she was able to successfully pivot to a brick-and-mortar model. 

“SCORE got me up and running,” Andrus said. 

SBA was also able to provide pandemic assistance through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF). Andrus shared that the pandemic assistance helped Honey and Rye continue to stay in business, despite the stressors and anxieties the pandemic presented.  

The PPP and RRF loans were instrumental in helping Andrus, and she emphasized how important they were for Honey and Rye. 

“We wouldn’t be here without them,” Andrus said.

Honey and Rye has been successful since its inception, but recently experienced newfound growth. With the help of a 504 loan, Andrus expanded her bakery by purchasing a new building. She participated in the THRIVE program as well, which also helped with the expansion. An issue the business faced was a lack of space and capacity, but an SBA loan helped Andrus physically expand Honey and Rye, and SBA technical assistance helped Andrus expand her dreams.  

Andrus is excited about the future of her business. She has always wanted to provide Minnesota locals with instructive classes, and with the purchase of the new bakehouse, her dreams are continuing to come true.  

Being able to give back and connect with the community has always been an important priority for Andrus, and she is beyond proud to be able to provide jobs for 50 people and to be able to offer classes for the community.  

Andrus is balancing the stress of expansion with a lot of excitement. She is eager to see what is in store for her and Honey and Rye’s future. 

“I balance it with excitement and an amount of pride,” Andrus said. “The biggest thing I feel good about is being able to do what we’re doing but more sustainably.”  

Honey and Rye has seen sweet success since 2007, and it has only continued to thrive.