It may sound strange, but the Dunn Brothers Coffee (Dunn Bros) on City Walk Drive was born out of a love for cheesecake. Owners Mark and Angela Spoto moved to Woodbury from New England in 1991, and Mark brought along his passion for desserts. “I’ve always done cheesecakes as a hobby and people have tried to talk me into starting my own business,” he says. But when he did some research, he decided he wasn’t ready for a full-fledged cheesecake business. Another business, though, caught his eye.
Dunn Bros is a local company: Ed and Dan Dunn started the business in 1987 in St. Paul, and each location is franchised. When the opportunity came up for the Dunn Bros site in Woodbury, the Spotos decided to go for it, and since November 2006, it’s been owned by the Woodbury residents.
Today, the Spotos are proud of their beans, after years of learning how roasting makes a difference. “Once you start tasting the coffee—sometimes it takes people a while to get used to it—you get to really realize how roasting and what we do to the coffee is different,” Mark says. Dunn Bros does direct trading with bean farmers around the world, so they know exactly who works with the beans and where they come from.
According to Mark, they aren’t just coffee anymore. While tea is now offered at most Dunn Bros, Mark will tell you he was definitely ahead of the curve. He saw how popular the drink was becoming, “so I started going out and did some work with the Art of Tea” to learn the differences between teas and the process in which they steep, to bring the best to Dunn Bros.
Starting in November, the Woodbury Dunn Bros became a part of the company’s mission to get fresh-baked goods in the store. The Fresh Bake Line is “a new drive for them to start baking everything in-house,” Mark says. So look for new breakfast sandwiches and bakery items not previously available at the local Dunn Bros.
The Spotos aren’t just about providing quality coffee, tea and baked goods, though. They make sure the shop is a part of growing the community. Angela Spoto, a teacher for kids with special needs, has brought in several programs, like Next Step, to help kids learn life skills. “It allows them to work in an environment [that’s safe],” Angela says, since many of the kids fear being around other people.
“I’ve enjoyed having them here, and we get a lot of positive [reactions] from customers,” she says.
Local art also adorns the walls, and some nights, family-friendly live music can be heard coming from the back corner – oftentimes from high school kids. “We always look for anyone to come in and play,” Mark says, adding that prospective performers just need to sign up and go over a few ground rules beforehand.
And don’t forget about the cheesecakes. During the holidays, Mark has been known to sell his specialties in flavors like Oreo cheesecake, Bailey’s Irish Cream with chocolate (a bestseller), or a simple New York. Their regular customers will place orders for Valentine’s Day as well.
