Coquette Patisserie nears June soft opening in downtown Fergus Falls

Downtown Fergus Falls was about to gain a new reason for people to linger on the block. Coquette Pâtisserie, Emily McCune’s French pastry shop, was moving toward a June soft opening pending inspection approval, with plans to be fully operational in July.

The opening mattered well beyond the pastry case. McCune’s shop was set to add a destination business to the downtown mix, the kind of street-level investment that can keep customers in the core longer, send them next door to other merchants, and give central Fergus Falls another draw beyond errands and office hours. McCune has described the concept as “a little taste of France, little corner of Fergus Falls,” a fitting description for a business built to feel like more than a quick stop.

Coquette Pâtisserie has called itself “the first and only French Pâtisserie in Fergus Falls,” with a menu centered on croissants, macarons, eclairs, French breads, tarts and mousses. The business also planned seasonal items, sandwiches and espresso drinks, pairing classic French technique with a format that can work as both bakery and daytime gathering place.

The shop’s downtown debut followed a longer buildout. Coquette’s materials said the idea was first a vision in 2023, a plan in 2024 and an established business in 2025. It opened first as a cottage bakery in May 2025 before expanding into a brick-and-mortar space in the heart of downtown Fergus Falls in 2026.

McCune’s path to the pâtisserie ran through several turns. She moved to Fergus Falls 15 years ago from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, when she was 29. A 2023 trip to Paris helped crystallize her decision to become a pastry chef, and she enrolled in the Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts in 2024 while pursuing an associate degree in Professional Pastry Arts.

West Central Initiative said McCune secured a $50,000 loan to help launch the business and hired a team of six employees, including a full-time apprentice, baristas and pastry support staff. The shop also said it followed a farm-to-table model and aimed to source as many ingredients as possible locally or regionally, a pitch that tied the bakery’s French identity to Otter Tail County’s local food economy.

For downtown Fergus Falls, the opening represented both a new retail tenant and a test of what kind of businesses the city can attract. If the patisserie fills the way McCune envisions, it could help turn a downtown block into a place to stay a while, not just pass through.