ELY— Those who miss being served by their favorite baristas from the Front Porch will be glad to know that the duo is going into business together. Jen Flermoen and Michelle Timmins will be opening a new cafe in the historic Mantel House at 323 E. Sheridan Street, scheduled to open on Aug 1.
Built by Joseph Mantel in 1923, the building has been home to a bed and breakfast and two different restaurants, but has been vacant in more recent years.
The new business will feature Flermoen’s baking talents, which have already become known in the Ely area through her celiac-friendly bakery, Jen’s Cakery, which has been highly successful since its debut last July.
A self-taught baker, Flermoen displays a natural talent and draws much of her decorating inspiration from nature. She utilizes organic ingredients in both her baking and diet and said she and Timmins plan to do the same with the food they prepare in their cafe.
“My intention is just what my gut is telling me. I love using organic ingredients because I think it’s better for the body, it feels better and tastes better most of the time, and that’s why I’ve always stuck to using organic ingredients most of the time. If that’s what I want for myself, I should practice what I preach.”
Gluten-free and organic ingredients such as flour are almost always more expensive than their counterparts that are non-organic or contain wheat. This makes running a celiac-friendly, healthy bakery and café somewhat of a challenge when inflation is already driving up the cost of food. Flermoen and Timmins plan to “pick and choose” when it comes to choosing organic ingredients while sticking to the original gluten-free baked items and keeping the food menu as clean as possible.
“We’re going to try to do as much organic as we can, but realistically that requires us right now to pick and choose where we spend that money. Our goal starting out is for our meat and eggs to be organic and ethically sourced, and if we can expand beyond that down the road, that’s something we will be constantly trying to improve on,” said Timmins. “We want this to be an affordable place where a family can come, or a Boy Scout troop or Forest Service team can come on their way out of town.”
Close friends
Flermoen and Timmins met at the Front Porch in 2016, where they both worked as baristas. Their connection was immediately apparent, and they became best friends. Flermoen developed an interest in baking around twenty years ago, and during her employment at the coffee shop, she used her free time to hone her craft. She used her family and friends as testers, including Timmins. In early 2022, she got a decorating kit and began learning the art of cake decorating. Flermoen, inspired by her mother and boyfriend who both maintain gluten-free diets, does all of her baking without using wheat or other grains that contain gluten.
Flermoen and Timmins left the Front Porch in May 2022. Timmins took the summer off to work on her house and think about her future. Flermoen sold her baked goods at the Ely Farmers Market and perfected her cake decorating. The two friends stayed in touch and discussed opening a business together that would combine Flermoen’s baking with coffee and a more robust menu.
With the closure of the Front Porch, the two women thought that Ely needed a new place to get breakfast and coffee and that Flermoen’s bakery should have a brick-and-mortar location. They decided to open and blend a new business with the existing bakery. Once open, the café will absorb Jen’s Cakery, and the friends will be equal partners in their business.
When scouting locations for their business, Timmins said they planned to look at one place only before the Mantel House fell into their laps. Everything about the historic property “feels right,” though, and the duo chose this location for many reasons.
2023 is the house’s centennial year, making it the perfect year to reopen to the public. The home also had a fully-equipped commercial kitchen from its previous run as a French fine-dining restaurant when Chefs Pam Freeman and Bernard Herman ran it.
“The kitchen is amazing and surpasses our immediate plans,” said Timmins. “It’s extra icing on the cake if you will,” said Flermoen.
The new eatery is unnamed as of this writing, and Flermoen and Timmins have been taking suggestions. They’re also still taking donations to help with the start-up costs. Their GoFundMe page can be found at https://www.gofundme.com/f/we-need-your-help-to-open-the-doors or by Googling GoFundMe and Jen Flermoen. They also have a fund at Frandsen Bank in Ely for those who want to avoid donating online. At Frandsen, donations can be made to 323 E. Sheridan LLC, or checks can be made to Flermoen or Timmins directly and added to the fund.
When its doors finally open next month, Ely’s locals and tourists will surely welcome a new place to get breakfast, coffee, and a gourmet treat or two. On opening day, the eatery will work with a simple breakfast and lunch menu, drip and cold-brew coffee, and of course, a selection of Flermoen’s famous desserts. The service will be counter and takeaway only with hours of operation from 7 a.m. to noon, at least to start.
“We want to wait until things slow down a little bit before we can get our espresso machine,” said Flermoen.
“And we want to get open for the summer and do a more limited and focused menu, then once things quiet down, we can close for a couple of days to build out our ideal service area,” Timmins said.
The initial opening date for the new business was July 1, but a few setbacks have pushed that timetable back a month. The biggest challenge has been bringing the building up to code and making it accessible to everyone.