Nov. 8, 2019

The new coffee shop and bakery in Harrisburg’s 518 Marketplace offers everything from espresso drinks and cupcakes to sandwiches and soup.

Sassy Cakes & Coffee opened earlier this month in the marketplace at 518 N. Cliff Ave.

Ashly Nordmeyer moved her gourmet cupcake business from Pipestone, Minn., to Harrisburg and has expanded her offerings.

The breakfast menu includes Grandma Bea’s Monkey Bread, muffins and a French toast panini with fried egg, cheese and sausage or bacon, along with a side of maple syrup.

“This morning, I whipped up a French toast bake, so depending on the day and what I feel like the day before, we’re going to have some random stuff available too,” she said one day last week.

For lunch, there are five paninis – buffalo chicken, barbecue chicken, spinach and artichoke chicken, turkey and cheddar, or ham and Swiss – on Breadsmith bread. They come in half or whole sizes and are served with a side of homemade macaroni salad and a pickle.

Nordmeyer plans to serve chicken noodle soup every day with one or two rotating options.

In addition to coffee drinks, the beverage menu includes smoothies, teas and hot chocolate.

Cupcakes remain Nordmeyer’s passion. She has about 50 flavors that she makes and plans to have a few popular varieties such as vanilla and cookie dough daily and then offer others on a rotating basis. Customers can order specific flavors by the dozen, and Nordmeyer also does custom cakes for birthdays and other special occasions.

Other baked goods include cookie sandwiches filled with buttercream frosting, fat bombs, protein bombs and keto-friendly cheesecake, and she hopes to start offering gluten-friendly cupcakes this week.

Hours are 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday, 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. She serves breakfast from 6 to 10:30 a.m. and lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Coffee, cupcakes and other baked goods are available all day.

Nordmeyer is still living in Pipestone and commuting, so her cupcake fans at home can still get her treats at Pipestone Floral.

She started her business in February 2018 after working as a dental assistant and managing a Verizon store.

“I had this wild hair that I’m going to quit my job and bake. People thought I was crazy.”

She has always enjoyed baking.

“My grandma was my biggest inspiration. I had an Easy Bake Oven at her house. Later, we did pies, cookies, bars.”

She started her business out of her home and grew into a commercial kitchen in Lake Benton, Minn., delivering orders to her customers and selling them through Pipestone Floral and the Lake Benton Resort. She grew Sassy Cakes through social media and added a trailer in the summer to do mobile sales at festivals and community events.

Now that she has a storefront, she has hired her youngest brother, Tim Kreun, and a friend, Joe Vela, to work with her.

Nordmeyer is excited about the potential to keep growing her business through the 518 Marketplace, which includes Emer-Genz Eats & Treats, White Barn Charm, Something for Me and BluMoon Designs. 518 Marketplace is open later than Sassy Cakes & Coffee — until 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

“It’s just a super cool concept — five women business owners working under one roof to do what they love. I think it’s really awesome, and I’m super excited to be a part of that, just to empower each other and build each other up. We all want to succeed and why not help each other do that.”

Bakery, boutique to join Harrisburg’s evolving 518 Marketplace