Entrepreneurs are at the heart of our communities. They shape our food scenes, introduce us to innovative new products that make our lives easier – or at least more exciting – and they expose us to new cultures, family traditions, fusions and ideas. We at Shea are dreamers and innovators ourselves, not to mention huge local foodies, so supporting up-and-coming chefs and business leaders in our community is a core value of our business.
In our almost 47 years, we’ve been fortunate to partner with many entrepreneurial thinkers to launch their passions into businesses. We’ve been even more fortunate to watch many take off into still-growing successes, like Crave, Centro, Lunds and Byerly’s and yum! Kitchen + Bakery.
Here are a few key steps we’ve learned from our experiences and how some of our latest partners have implemented them:
Start small but think big.
Projects of any size need to begin with strategy. Whether starting as a pop-up, food truck, single counter or small storefront, you not only need to have a plan for how you’ll draw and grow a following but also a strategy for what’s next. What are the big picture plans for your business, and how can you position yourself for that growth now instead of reacting later?
Entrepreneurs are usually pretty good at the thinking big part, but don’t be afraid to lean on your partners for feedback and execution. Shea has been here before with many clients, we’ve seen what works (and what doesn’t), and our goal is to use our knowledge and experience to avoid potential pitfalls.
Egg on a Roll
Egg on a Roll recently opened their first standalone location in Minneapolis’ Dinkytown neighborhood, now referred to as their “flagship location.” Their team has two new locations currently under construction and additional locations planned throughout the Twin Cities and Sioux Falls.
- • Their start: Adam Bresina founded the specialty egg sandwich concept by leasing a counter space inside a small North Loop market
- • Big picture plan: operate multiple standalone locations and expand into new markets
- • The strategy: Partner with Shea to create a prototype-like design and recognizable brand elements that can be quickly and efficiently replicated and implemented in dense, urban markets
Center the customer experience.
No matter how exciting or innovative the offerings are, we’ve found the best way to grow a business is to center the customer experience. With physical spaces, this means focused design that considers guest flow, navigation, experiential zones, interactions, technology and efficiencies. For quick-service restaurants or retail shops, it’s being mindful of the service counter flow and queuing.
This is especially important for new businesses starting with smaller square footage. The design has to be super-efficient and creative to ensure consumer sensibility is present. The flow has to facilitate easy customer movement without highlighting the small size of the space.
Gray Fox
The local coffee shop recently joined Dayton’s Project in Downtown Minneapolis as the building’s first permanent retail tenant. Shea partnered with Gray Fox owner Chris Bjorling and building management to design the space to be welcoming and comfortable, inviting guests to linger and enjoy their coffee and the atmosphere.
The customer experience:
- • Bold signage navigates guests to the location and secondary signage efficiently guides them through ordering and pick-up
- • A clear space is defined for natural queuing at the counter without disrupting seated guests
- • Varied seating zones are available for different experiences: lounging, working, gathering in small or large groups, etc.
Highcroft Home
The Wayzata, MN boutique from owner Molly MacDonald underwent a Shea-designed refresh introducing a new layout that’s instinctual to shoppers, increases personal interactions and spotlights their luxury linen collection.
The customer experience:
- • A relocated service counter/point of sale system creates a natural flow through the store and allows staff easier interaction opportunities with guests as they shop
- • Light and bright design with custom fixtures allows the products to stand out while creating an illusion of a bigger store
- • Specialty displays offer product interaction for customers as they create custom orders through Highcroft
Make it unique.
This applies to both the business and the space. Find your niche in the market, and don’t be afraid to showcase it in your design. Providing a unique product or service draws guests in and keeps them coming back. And giving them a unique, memorable experience drives word of mouth and social marketing to grow the following even more.
Aki’s BreadHaus & WunderBar
Aki’s grew a local following at their original NE Minneapolis location before making the leap to a new location a few miles away and 5x larger in size. The team wanted to expand their offerings, so they engaged Shea to create the layout and design to incorporate the bakery counter, retail, a mix of seating and WunderBar, a new wine bar concept.
- • Their niche: a one-of-a-kind, German-inspired experience centered around their authentic (not to mention delicious) baked pretzels, bread loaves and pastries and now, new wine bar: WunderBar
- • Unique features: checkered wall tile inspired by gingham patterned traditional Trachten shirts, windows behind the bar looking into the bakery production, custom millwork and hanging pretzel display built by owner Aki Berndt himself
TAP IN Kitchen & Cocktails
A new concept from the New Rules collective, TAP IN opened in North Minneapolis to offer the community a space to come together over good food, drinks, music and company. Founder Chris Webley and the team partnered with Shea to bring their vision to life, creating a space with an earthy, organic design.
- • Their niche: TAP IN is more than just a restaurant, it’s a community space first. The team’s vision for the concept is to be “hub for social change,” and they’re committed to supporting innovators, artists and leaders in the North Minneapolis community
- • Unique features: organic forms, fixtures and Tree of Life installation designed in collaboration with local artists and small businesses
Make it yours.
This may be the most important step as a small business. Make it yours: the space, the atmosphere and the experience should all reflect your brand. Getting your own space is a major opportunity to fully flush out your brand and how guests interact with it. Embrace the opportunity and introduce your brand into every touch point.
With limited time and budget available, it’s natural to want to keep things simple. And simple can be effective, as long as it’s executed thoughtfully. The risk is the potential to slip into generic or forgettable territory and lose authenticity. But through our experiences, we’ve mastered ways to cost-effectively create branded environments, and it can be as simple as color choices, personality in the décor, or small details and graphics that can be replicated with growth.
Francis Burger Joint
Francis Burger Joint began selling their innovative, vegan burgers and fare through a food trailer residency before settling into their own location in NE Minneapolis. Ready to grow into a multi-location restaurant collection, the Francis team partnered with Shea on the design of their East Lake space with elements and details that carried the brand into the second location.
East Lake brand elements:
- • Painted store front in Francis Burger Joint’s signature black & pink brand colors, including the overhead exterior lights
- • Pops of their secondary red color in the interior with dining chairs and select overhead elements (i.e. ducts and a trusses) painted red
- • Cartoon burger mural around a neon Francis sign, nodding to the mural at their Northeast location
Mill City Running
Jeff and Bekah Metzdorff first partnered with Shea to design Saint City Running in St. Paul, the duo’s second small running shop. Recently, we again teamed up, this time returning to their original Minneapolis shop, Mill City Running, to refresh and expand the store.
Mill City Running brand elements:
- • Bold colors and patterns creating an active energy throughout the store
- • Clean displays with apothecary-like open shelving providing a common thread between stores
- • A custom SheaMakes produced, patterned wallcovering in their brand’s blue and red colors
Each of these entrepreneurs had a great business idea, and our job at Shea was to bring that business and brand to life and set them up for long-term success and growth. Strategic planning and creating a solid brand, centered customer experiences and unique environments were all key tactics in helping our entrepreneurial partners grow their small businesses into successful endeavors in their communities and beyond.
As we enter 2025, we’re looking forward to watching their continued growth and supporting more of our local favorites (like Animales and their first brick-and-mortar location) as they embark on their next journeys.
