Fergus Falls French bakery draws crowds ahead of grand opening

Coquette Patisserie is betting downtown Fergus Falls has room for a niche French bakery, and the early crowd it has already pulled in suggests the answer may be yes. The shop at 211 W. Lincoln Ave. is set to open Saturday, Aug. 1, after drawing attention for scratch-made pastries, locally sourced ingredients and a menu built around croissants, tarts, eclairs, profiteroles and macarons.

Owner Emily McCune has positioned the business as more than a standard bakery counter. Coquette describes itself online as Fergus Falls’ “first and ONLY French pâtisserie,” and its website says the pastries are made with “time-honored techniques that pre-date the First World War,” using recipes developed in-house and adapted from Auguste Escoffier. The bakery also describes its menu as farm-to-table and seasonal, with 100% from-scratch pastries.

The opening has been delayed by the kind of paperwork and inspection work that often stands between a storefront and its first sale. Coquette said it completed an almost 3-hour inspection, review and paperwork process and was licensed and given the green light to open. Earlier, the Fergus Falls Daily Journal noted the bakery was pending inspection approval, with soft opening dates planned in June and full operations expected in July.

The business has been building support beyond social media as well. The Fergus Falls Area Chamber of Commerce lists Coquette Patisserie as a bakery and cakes retail member, West Central Initiative highlighted McCune as opening the shop after years in the food industry and training in pastry arts, and Prairie Public later featured her on Prairie Plates as part of a segment on the new French pastry shop in downtown Fergus Falls.

That mix of recognition matters in a city where downtown traffic can make or break a small specialty retailer. A French pâtisserie is not a broad-market grocery stop, but Coquette’s early buzz, downtown address and locally rooted branding point to a test of whether Fergus Falls consumers will support a higher-end, destination-style food business.

If McCune can turn the opening-day crowd into repeat customers, the payoff reaches beyond one bakery. More foot traffic on West Lincoln Avenue could help nearby businesses, and a successful launch would signal that Fergus Falls still has room for specialty retail built around quality, craft and regional sourcing.