StoryNew Business Establishment and Community Integration

Bloomington City Council welcomes new Backstory Coffee Roasters location

The Bloomington City Council heard a presentation from Backstory Coffee Roasters about its newly opened coffee bar at Bloomington Central Station near the airport and Mall of America. The business, which roasts coffee in St. Paul and operates another location in Minneapolis's North Loop neighborhood, opened in late August and has already become a community gathering space.

Meeting date: Oct 9, 2024
Published Jun 14, 2026

Backstory Coffee Roasters representatives told the council that their Bloomington location has gotten off to a strong start since opening the last week of August. "We've been meeting a lot of our neighbors," one representative said, describing the early reception as very positive.

The company emphasized that the city made the process of opening straightforward and welcoming. "Everybody was very encouraging and excited about us, and moving in, and the whole kind of process was very easy and straightforward," said Micah, a representative of the business.

The coffee roaster's mission centers on community connection. "We aim to cultivate deeper connections between people by sharing our love of delicious coffee," said Kristina, another company representative. She added that the business hopes to "keep providing a space for the neighborhood, for everyone who lives and works in this space to sit down together, connect, and sip some delicious drinks while doing so."

The presentation highlighted how the new location contributes to local economic activity through job creation and partnerships with other Bloomington businesses. The coffee bar's location near major regional landmarks like the airport and Mall of America positions it to serve both local residents and visitors to the area. The business's expansion to Bloomington marks its third location, following its headquarters roastery on St. Paul's west side and the Minneapolis coffee bar that opened in 2019.

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Full analysis

We opened here the very last week of August, and it's been really great so far. We've been meeting a lot of our neighbors.

Business Representative [0:20]
Presentation: New Coffee Bar Opening in Bloomington

everybody was very encouraging and excited about us, and moving in, and the whole kind of process was very easy and straightforward.

Micah [0:54]
Presentation: New Coffee Bar Opening in Bloomington

We aim to cultivate deeper connections between people by sharing our love of delicious coffee.

Kristina [1:09]
Presentation: New Coffee Bar Opening in Bloomington

we hope to just keep providing a space for the neighborhood, for everyone who lives and works in this space to sit down together, connect, and sip some delicious drinks while doing so.

Kristina [1:29]
Presentation: New Coffee Bar Opening in Bloomington
Source document

[0:00] (upbeat music)

[0:01] - Well, we're a roaster with

three coffee bar locations.

[0:04] Our roastery headquarters is in St. Paul.

[0:07] We first opened in 2014,

[0:09] and then in 2019 we moved

over to our current location

[0:13] where we added a coffee bar,

[0:15] and then we added another

coffee bar in 2019

[0:17] in the North Loop

neighborhood of Minneapolis.

[0:20] - We opened here the

very last week of August,

[0:23] and it's been really great so far.

[0:26] We've been meeting a lot of our neighbors.

[0:28] It's been really special for us

[0:30] to start making those

connections with our neighbors,

[0:33] learning their dogs' names

as they visit on the patio,

[0:36] or you know,

[0:38] finding out the favorite latte

flavors here in Bloomington.

[0:42] Yeah, we've got a really

great team of baristas,

[0:44] who are really excited to be here.

[0:47] - [Micah] Very excited

that it's in this part

[0:49] of the city of Bloomington.

[0:51] It's very close to the airport,

[0:52] and very close to the Mall of America.

[0:54] From the beginning, when

we initially started

[0:56] to make the connections with

the people from the city,

[0:59] everybody was very encouraging

and excited about us,

[1:02] and moving in, and the whole kind

[1:04] of process was very easy

and straightforward.

[1:08] - [Kristina] It starts

really with our mission.

[1:10] We aim to cultivate deeper

connections between people

[1:12] by sharing our love of delicious coffee.

[1:15] So for us, that means sourcing

our coffees very mindfully.

[1:19] At the coffee bars,

[1:20] it comes into how we

interact with our guests,

[1:24] how we involve with each

community in each neighborhood

[1:28] where we're located,

[1:29] and we hope to just keep providing a space

[1:32] for the neighborhood,

for everyone who lives

[1:35] and works in this space

to sit down together,

[1:39] connect, and sip some delicious

drinks while doing so.

[1:44] We have got a menu

[1:46] that I think has something for everyone.

[1:48] So we've got all the classic coffees,

[1:50] and as we've grown,

[1:53] our seasonal specialties

have become a bigger part

[1:56] of our menu as well.

[1:57] We've been really loving

our new breakfast wrap.

[2:00] And then very importantly, pastry is fresh

[2:03] from Vikings and Goddesses,

[2:05] and from Sift Gluten Free as well.

[2:08] We also keep our shelves stocked

[2:11] with freshly roasted coffee

[2:14] from our roastery on the

west side of St. Paul.

[2:18] The coffee bar is open from 7 to 5 daily,

[2:21] and we're really excited

[2:23] to see you all here in

Bloomington Central Station.

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