Madison online bakery Miggy’s Bakes to open first brick-and-mortar in Middleton

Restaurant Marigold Kitchen in Madison’s Downtown was closed for the day. But the space bustled with activity one Tuesday afternoon as the owner of a local online bakery hastily prepared an order of nearly 24 dozen cookies for a corporate customer.

In almost a synchronous dance, Shelby Olstad, the owner of Miggy’s Bakes, and bakery operations manager and wedding coordinator Kalli Acker, mixed dough and prepared tray after tray of cookies to bake as the sweet aromas of chocolate and peanut butter wafted through the kitchen. They started their shift at 4 p.m., and would bake late into that Tuesday evening.

Miggy’s Bakes, which started in late 2019 as Olstad’s side hustle while she worked her way through college, is soon to open a 1,900-square-foot brick-and-mortar storefront at 6712 Frank Lloyd Wright Ave. in Middleton. The building is the former home of a Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt that Olstad, 25, frequented as a teen. The entrepreneur who grew up in Middleton has had a sweet tooth for as long as she can remember.

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The bakery, which has seven employees, has outgrown Marigold’s commercial kitchen. The Middleton space includes a much larger kitchen that’s 900 square feet.

“Everything is going to be pink and white,” Olstad said of the new space, which is slated for a May opening. “The customer-facing area will be all florals. Super bright. Happy. It will have themes of disco throughout, so there will be disco balls. The kitchen — I’m super excited to have windows in it, because a lot of kitchens do not. I’m really excited to expand and to make (Miggy’s Bakes) everything I’ve always dreamed of.”

Kalli Acker, left, operations manager for Miggy’s Bakes, and owner Shelby Olstad bake a batch of 24 dozen cookies to fulfill a corporate customer’s order. They have been using Marigold Kitchen, but plan to open their own kitchen in Middleton.

EMILIE HEIDEMANN, STATE JOURNAL

Since its genesis, Miggy’s Bakes has marketed its various products via an Instagram account with roughly 16,000 followers and through its website. Before scoring Marigold’s kitchen to fulfill orders, Olstad baked from home — a practice that’s only recently become fully legal in Wisconsin.

In 2017, a Wisconsin trial court ruled that the state’s ban on selling baked goods to the public without a license or commercial kitchen was unconstitutional. A Dane County Circuit Court judge in 2022 extended the 2017 ruling to other nonhazardous food items. Supporters of the 2017 ruling said it was good for business, while opponents said it posed a food safety and health issue.

Prices for Miggy’s Bakes fare range from $2.50 a cookie to $400 for a specialty wedding cake. Customers can tailor orders for products to suit any occasion — a common favorite is the 21st birthday custom cake, Olstad said.

“I’m my own target market,” she said, adding that her favorite Miggy’s Bakes item to make is its “cookie up” inspired by a recipe that has roots in London. “My biggest group of customers is students.”

A quick scroll through the Miggy’s Bakes Instagram reveals photos of colorfully frosted cupcakes, classic brownies and even a 21st birthday cake decorated with small bottles of liquor. The account also includes videos showing viewers how to bake Miggy’s Bakes recipes.

“It often doesn’t feel like a job,” Acker, 23, said while mixing dough Tuesday. “Shelby’s a great boss. She gives me a lot of freedom. It’s nice because she trusts me, too. I’m not great with other people telling me what to do. I’ve always been a leader.”

Shelby Olstad, owner of Miggy’s Bakes, started baking for people in college, and for a time worked three jobs, went to school and prepared orders.

EMILIE HEIDEMANN, STATE JOURNAL

Life passion

Olstad graduated from UW-Madison in 2019 with a degree in economics and a certificate in entrepreneurship.

Miggy’s Bakes started while Olstad was on winter break that year, when “I was baking so much for the holidays.” Olstad said she has had a passion for the craft since she was a young child — in the fourth grade, Olstad and her best friend at the time taught their classmates how to perfect a recipe for chocolate cookies.

And so her creations had already been in demand among friends and roommates. Soon, friends of friends and “random people I didn’t know” asked Olstad to bake for them.

Olstad decided to charge for her baked goods that she made out of her home kitchen at the time. She named that enterprise after her dog, a teddy bear named Wrigley and nicknamed “Miggy.”

“Miggy always sits in my lap,” Olstad said.

Orders started to trickle in while Olstad worked three jobs alongside being a full-time student.

After graduating, Olstad was hired as an acquisition and social media manager for a locally made interactive shopping app. She worked 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in that position, and from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. fulfilling orders for Miggy’s Bakes.

In April 2021, Olstad quit her job to pursue baking full-time. It took three months for Olstad to tell her parents about the move.

Prices for Miggy’s Bakes fare range from $2.50 a cookie, pictured, to $400 for a specialty wedding cake.

EMILIE HEIDEMANN, STATE JOURNAL.

Wanted: Kitchen

Olstad dedicated much of her newfound time to finding a commercial kitchen in which to bake her products. She said she “called over 100 places around Madison and got denied by every single (business) besides Marigold.”

In January 2022, Olstad sought to have her own commercial kitchen. It again took several phone calls and visits to buildings before something took.

“I would cry for a day thinking, ‘I want to quit. I’m done’” she said. “The next day I would wake up thinking, ‘OK, I’m going to go crush it again.’”

She ultimately found the Frank Lloyd Wright Avenue, Middleton, space last November.

Looking ahead

The Miggy’s Bakes Middleton location is only the beginning, Olstad said.

She envisions Miggy’s Bakes pop-up shops on the UW-Madison campus, as well as locations in Sun Prairie, Oconomowoc, and even South Carolina and Florida.

Olstad is also in the process of building an events business — Events By Miggy’s, which she launched at the end of January with support from her colleagues.

“I have a friend group of small business owners,” Olstad said. “We get together once a month, the goal being to support one another. I don’t know what I would do without them.”

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“The kitchen — I’m super excited to have windows in it, because a lot of kitchens do not. I’m really excited to expand and to make (Miggy’s Bakes) everything I’ve always dreamed of.”

Shelby Olstad, owner

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