Police Chief Janeé Harteau, Council Member Barb Johnson, Hennepin County Commissioner Linda Higgins, Cookie Cart executive director Matt Halley, Cookie Cart employee Keondre Jordan and Mayor Betsy Hodges cut the ribbon at the grand re-opening of the Cookie Cart at 1119 W. Broadway Ave.

A north Minneapolis bakery that aims to help develop teenagers' business skills unveiled a new, upgraded space Thursday -- and the news that it plans to put more young people to work.

Cookie Cart, located at 1119 W. Broadway Ave., had been closed for several months as workers installed new equipment, built a cafe seating area and fixed the building's elevator. The business' re-opening was marked with a speech from Mayor Betsty Hodges, an open-house tour of the facility, and free cookies for the local dignitaries and neighbors who packed the bakery's ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Matt Halley, the Cookie Cart's executive director, said the revamped space will allow the organization to employ 200 teenagers. That's up about 50 young employees from last fall.

"This bakery is really our classroom," he said. "It's where we teach life, leadership and employment skills."

Mayor Betsy Hodges proclaimed Sept. 18 as "Cookie Cart Day" in the city, and encouraged people to order the business' sweet treats to take to their own offices.

"This is one of the leading social enterprises in the city of Minneapolis," she said.

Keondre Jordan, a 16-year-old Cookie Cart employee, said he's been working in the bakery for two years. Once he got over the a few hurdles -- scooping out the cookie dough turns out to be tougher than it looks, he said -- the job made him think differently about what he could do after high school.

Before he showed up at the bakery, Keondre didn't think he'd go to college. Now, he's more certain it's something he could do.

"It's not just about selling cookies here," he said.