10 restaurants and bakeries that got their start at Twin Cities farmers markets

Joachim "Aki" Berndt traded a career in architecture for baking, starting his breads-, sweets- and pretzels-centric operation with $600 and a stand at the Maple Grove Farmers Market.

2506 Central Av. NE., Mpls., akisbreadhaus.com

Obsessed with creating the naturally leavened bagels and bialys he craved from his years of living in New York, Asa Diebolt began selling his output (made with locally milled flours) at the Midtown Farmers Market.

3507 23rd Av. S., Mpls., asasbakery.com

Long before she opened her Uptown bakery in 2019, pastry chef Sarah Botcher enticed browsers with her handiwork, laden with flour, butter and sugar, at the Minneapolis Farmers Market's Nicollet Mall branch.

3157 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls., blackwalnutbakery.com

Attorney Anne Rucker used the Kingfield Farmers Market as a platform to turn her passion for baking — and superb doughnut making — into a new vocation.

Chef/owner Erica Strait started her business by tempting shoppers at the Kingfield Farmers Market with crispy, handmade falafel. The rest, as they say, is history.

791 Raymond Av., St. Paul, foxyfalafel.com

Rashmi Bhattachan and Sarala Kattel parlayed a pot stickers stand at the Mill City Farmers Market into a first-rate restaurant showcasing Nepali, Indian and Tibetan flavors.

23 NE. 4th St., Mpls., gorkhapalace.com

Using a trailer-mounted wood-burning pizza oven, chef/owner Arie Peisert perfected his craft at the Mill City Farmers Market.

Another one of the city's great pizzerias — the work of chef/owner Peter Campbell — also grew out of a mobile pizza oven, parked at the Linden Hills Farmers Market.

5416 Penn Av. S., Mpls., redwagon-mpls.com

Siblings Jen Lloyd and Kate Lloyd couldn't find locally made bagels that suited their tastes. So they made their own, selling them at an instantly popular Fulton Farmers Market stand.

530 N. 3rd St., Mpls., risebagel.com

What started as a Kingfield Farmers Market side gig for Turtle Bread Co. baker Solveig Tofte turned into a gotta-visit bakery/cafe that just celebrated its 10th anniversary.