Fleur expands to Central Avenue

Just as bread rises, Fleur Bake Shop too is growing fast.

The bakery, which opened in April 2017 behind Lakestream Fly Shop on Spokane Avenue, recently relaunched at its new Central Avenue location last month.

Fleur now occupies the newly remodeled space next to Casey’s, formerly the Red Caboose coffee shop.

It’s been a big change for the shop, owner Whitney Brien said, and it’s been interesting to see things from a downtown perspective.

“We’re just experiencing the foot traffic that we never did at the old shop, which is so exciting,” she said. “We did really well in that little shop, and now we’re really understanding that for our location it’s amazing that people found us, because here it’s so easy to get passerby who have no idea what our business is, but they’ll come in and be tempted by desserts and coffee.”

The new shop is fronted by large windows that let light into the shop and allow curious people walking by to look and see what’s inside.

That’s intentional, Brien said. A big priority when getting the new store ready was making an open space where people could sit in sunlight, enjoy their pastry or coffee and read a book, a stark contrast from the grab-and-go nature of the previous location.

Along with a change of scenery, the shop has also updated its menu to include coffee and espresso drinks as well as small plates, like a beet tartine with goat cheese, arugula and balsamic on toasted sourdough or a steel cut oats dish.

Brien said she had been offered the location just before last summer began, and had to decline because there was no way Fleur could move right before its peak season. When the space was still open later in the fall, she jumped on the chance.

“It was always on the back of my mind, and I remember being pretty bummed that I had to turn it down because I knew this location was so great. Then it just continued to sit empty,” she said. “It’s crazy, and I keep pinching myself every now and then remembering that this actually happened.”

The change hasn’t been without growing pains, however.

For one, Brien said her staff size has literally quintupled.

“To go from myself and like two to three employees to 15 employees is a huge jump. It’s been interesting trying to manage front and back of house and make sure we’re all on the same page, especially since most of those people are brand new,” she said. “We’re still just getting used to larger numbers and being downtown, because before we missed out on so much tourism that it’s been astounding just seeing the amount of foot traffic we’re receiving being here.”

Always a baker, Brien said she first started baking professionally while attending Montana State University. She followed that up with a pastry school in Chicago and baking jobs in Colorado and Oregon, but home was always on her mind.

“I always knew I wanted to move back to Montana, and I saw a need for a sort of bake shop with a French pastry style influence here,” she said. “I jumped on it and I still have family in Montana, so it was a no-brainer to move back here. It’s always felt like home.”

Similarly, demand can sometimes create some confusion about their baking process when things run out, she added.

“We still are, at heart, a small bake shop, and everything here is house-made. I think the hardest part is for people to understand that if we run out of something, it’s only because it’s all homemade and we can’t just quickly run in the back and throw something in the oven to have out in 10 minutes. It doesn’t work like that,” she said.

While the move has brought in a lot of new customers, Brien said one of the cooler experiences has been watching the excitement from regulars who supported them at their original location.

“It’s truly amazing what we’ve done in just over two years, to first start in that small bake shop and receive the amount of love and support we did from the community, and to have the ability and backing and encouragement to move into this space. Just to have a fabulous community behind our back is really cool,” she said.

Fleur is open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. More information is available at www.fleurbakeshop.com.