Jerabek’s Bakery

This is a hidden neighborhood gem. The coffee is good, the baked goods are great, and it’s a nice funky place to relax for a bit. Also I like seeing neighborhood moms and dads dropping by with their kids in a wagon to grab a treat. Sometimes it’s just so nice to see happy families on a sunny day, and this is the kind of place where you see a lot of that.

I had never seen or heard of a pasty before going into Jerabek’s. I adore them now! Buttery and savory. It is the perfect little breakfast bundle. This classic little joint is consistently yummy. Their pastries and drinks are nicely done too. I would suggest the rhubarb bar. The best part of Jerabek’s is that it is off the beaten path. Coffee — hold the chatty teen girls and angry, rushing city folk. I know their management just changed a bit and I hope that they are able to stick around.

Delicious food and coffee. The only part that is hard is sometimes they aren’t open on days after holidays or open in afternoons,?when I really want that tasty quiche or latte. Best ever is breakfast sandwich on a croissant with egg and cheese yum.

Admittedly the high star rankings are more for being a neighborhood favorite spot with a great atmosphere. The location serves as a childhood memory and is a great place to sit and read or meet with friends. But the bakery itself is rather typical and could stand some updating, I go for the coffee more than I expect to be wowed by the food.

Jerabek’s is closing as of today. In an emotional letter, the owners partly laid out the reasons for doing so.
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Jerabek’s will halt operations Sunday Oct 20.
We cannot express in words the pain involved in the decision to suspend operations at Jerabek’s. Numerous physical, financial, and emotional challenges have made us unable to properly lead and run the business. Our personal obligations and stresses have piled up to a breaking point that we need to address before we lose the things in our lives that are most important to us. Our neighbors and regular customers have been so wonderful that we cannot thank you all enough for the support you gave our institution, and we thank you for your recent outpouring of support once word was out that we were halting service. We feel shame and remorse that we are are so sudden in our inability to continue to serve you, please understand that recent circumstances forced us to act quickly.
Thank you for the faith you had in us, we sincerely apologize we could not follow-​through with the dream that we had for Jerabek’s. Perhaps this will open doors for others to build and enact a similar dream.
An Appeal to the Community:
Our wonderful staff were the motivation to keep us going over the past few months when we worked on our personal challenges, and we are indebted to them in many ways. I know they will be looking for new work, and if you could find it in your heart to point them toward any open doors you may know of, it would be a huge help for our community. They are talented people with big hearts.
With deep regrets and apologies,
Russ, John, and Ronda; Jerabek’s former owners
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This is a cute little coffee shop that offers a nice variety of yummy baked goods, breakfast, and lunch items. My americano was flavorful and smooth and the breakfast wrap delicious. We got an egg and veggie wrap, no meat or cheese. The sautéed veggies and eggs were well seasoned, had just the right amount of potatoes, and wasn’t dry or greasy. Will definitely be stopping by again when we’re in the area.

Are you tired of your standard hip coffee shop? Need a change up from the Velvet Underground blasting on the speakers while you are surrounded by college students on their Mac Books? I would like to suggest Jerabek’s New Bohemian Coffeehouse.
Nestled into the Southside of St. Paul not too far off Wabasha st., it takes on its own crown due to its distance from any institution of higher education. For one it has a giant play room for children in the back making it a bit more family friendly. They also have their own way with food. It all tends to fall into types of pies and pastries, both sweet and savory.
However, their coffee is just as good as any and their relative seclusion means it is rarely crowded. I personally think of Jerabek’s when I need a small breakfast and coffee on the weekend. Their meat pasties are wonderful and combined with my usual dousing of coffee, it all tends to make a great start to the day. So go to Jerabek’s. Whether you wish to travel to this next frontier of coffeehouse to be more of a hipster or escape them, it has plenty to offer for both.

Casual and conversational neighborhood café. They have been serving for over a century now at this location and the very sweet bakery goods have a strong following. They offer the best drip coffee deal I know as well as affordable and high quality specialty coffees. Sandwiches and pastry bites make for satisfying savory options.
There are now taller table options in front of the windows. The natural light has always poured into these rooms, but now you can be more comfortable watching for the metro buses that pass by or for the familiar faces of your neighbors.
The best? Those that work here seem to be having a good time.
I even ‘liked’ this place on Facebook. They now have a downtown skyway option. Sometimes you have to leave the West Side.

I used to live 2 blocks away from here, and used to hang out with the girl that lived across the street from this place. I really, wanted to like it. It was so close, and so convenient!
Ultimately though, I just don’t fit in at this place. The patio is all retired hippie baby boomer dudes in white flowing pony tails. It’s like the 60’s all over again in the summer. It’s that sort of clientelle that just lingers around outside the storefront and the little patio. The music played there goes along with this sort of vibe.
Alternatively, due to the 2 bus stops across the street, you also get a different crowd of people from this working class neighborhood grabbing coffee on the way to work. It’s an interesting contrast, but then again that’s pretty much a solid reflection of the neighborhood around it. That’s really the demographic and ethnic mix of my neighborhood.
Anyway, the coffee is pretty bad. The lemon poppyseed bread cakes were pretty good though. The rest of the food is in between. Really hit or miss. They also sell trinkets and artsy stuff.
Overall, it just wasn’t the kind of place where I felt like I fit in. It was like having coffee at your friends grandma’s place and you just wanted to hurry up and get out of there. Sure it was friendly but in a creepy way. That’s what Jerabek’s is like.

Went on a little field trip with my baby to West St Paul… we got there late in the afternoon-​and we will be back. They were out of soup (boo) but I shared a grilled cheese with my kiddo and had a couple of mini sugar cookies. They have a cute little toy corner and high chairs, and it was a nice place to chill out. I brought my husband home a piece of pecan pie and he has been talking about it ever since.

I had heard for some time how excellent the pastry was at Jerabeck’s– and didn’t get there until AFTER Melissa Deyo sold it, damn it. But I will say that I was delighted with the things that I had! If they truly were better when she was still running it, I’d have had to give it 6 stars! There are really hardly any bakeries in town that respect both the old-​fashioned quality standards of Americanised European baked goods, and the price sensitivities of the common man. The Napoleons, the kolaches, the near-​Wiernerbrød-​quality Danishes… all so good. And affordable!
My two quibbles that keep me from being a regular:
1.) Bad coffee. It may not actually be bad… no, wait. It is. I know that I am spoiled by the Swede Hollow, but come on Jerabeck’s! Get a clue: your coffee sucks.
2.) Service is… sigh. It’s nice that you employ such sweet and lovely teens, but could you at least TRAIN them to know what they are selling, and how to approach customer service with more than just a sweet smile? Several times I have gotten the wrong item (as in which kolache filling I had ordered.) It’s likely that your business would improve its sales and bottom line with more efficient and knowledgeable people working with better focus and ability. I know that sounds just plain grumpy, but really… it’s true.

Jerabek’s New Bohemian Bakery is my new favorite.
I stopped in the other day after hearing from my sisters czech coworker that Jerabek’s is the best place for an ‘authentic’ kolache in the twin cities area. I was pretty excited, as I hadn’t had a good kolache since I was a little girl and my bohemian grandmother made them.
I wasn’t let down.
I had a poppyseed kolache and it was delicious.
I also got some other treats to try. .. a lemon bar (my husband loved it!), a rhubarb bar (delish!), an apple crispy (my mom said it was tasty), a jerabob (my sister devoured it!) and a few other random small sweets. All of them were great and left my family super fulfilled with sweetness!
Next time I MUST try a pasty and get a lady Baltimore cake — I love those. I will be returning to this spot time and time again for their sweets.
The décor is also so uniquely bohemian feeling, I love it — it’s like a time-​warp of a shop. I could see myself coming in there for a coffee and to read.
Definitely check it out.

Didnt try their sweet stuff so I cant say how they are.
I tried their quiche and meat pasty and both were really nice. The decoration looks very bohemian and the staffs are all nice and friendly.

I’ll be Bach, you be Beethoven.
Every time I drive over the bridge to WSP I say to myself «, man, I should go to Jerabek’s.» I proceed to drive to the Caribou drive through bc apparently driving off Wabasha street was to difficult for little-​old-​unemployed-​plenty-​of-​time-​on-​my-​hands-​me.
This morning at about 530 I decided that I should take some photos over at Mear’s Park and then from the other side of the river back toward the lights along the bank.
After completing said assignment I finally got my ass over to Jerabek’s. Now that I’ve been to experience the joy of paying only 3 bucks for a breve AND a kolache I can state that I’ll be returning shortly to this bit of pastry heaven.
The variety of goodies they had in their display cases is enough to make me come here and gain back the 20 lbs I recently lost. The kolache was good size and very delicious. The breve was excellent, with plenty of foamy goodness to counter the coffee.
I didn’t see this place in the light as I arrived shortly after 6 am, but I think it is plunked within a cute residential area. According to my phone map it is around the corner from the St Matthew Catholic School. Lucky punks can ditch Ecclesiastes 101 for kolache and boston cream pie. Life isn’t fair sometimes…

I was a regular here — once a week for a few years. The bakery goods are OUTSTANDING. I highly recommend:
1. yogurt parfait. their own homemade nutty granola with giant fresh berries with vanilla yogurt. always fresh. best i’ve ever had!
2. apple or cherry crispies. perfectly filled, cinnamony and gigantic.
I do not think I can live long without these two items in my life.

I’ve been coming to Jerabek’s for more years than I care to recall. The breads, cookies, rhubarb bars, and especially the kolackys are worth the trip to this somewhat out of the way location.
I’m Bohemian and though it might be a sin to say it, I like Jerabek’s kolackys better than my grandma’s…
The coffees are good too; I would love to linger here some mornings but I’m usually in a mad dash to get to work…

Found this gem because of Unilocal!
Their baked goods are out of this world. Cherry Pie has a crust that rivals what grandma used to make. Both the lemon cake (white cake/​lemon filling, forgot it’s actual name, Lady Baltimore perhaps?) and the Chocolate Overload were outstanding. Challah bread makes for some awsome french toast. They bake everything on premises, from scratch.
Yes, the décor is a bit outdated, but I got the impression there are alot of locals and regulars that really enjoy this place. I chatted with the owner who told me her husband knows all the regulars. This isn’t just their business, it’s their life and community. I will absolutely be back.

Jerabek’s is dessert heaven! I would come here more often if it were closer to home. Owners Russ and Rhonda do an incredible job making you feel at home and tempting patrons with cakes, tortes, bars, and the best pies in the Twin Cities. I am a huge fan of the Tangy Lemon Dream Torte, Key Lime Pie, Rhubarb Bars, and anything chocolate in the bakery case! The specialty mochas like the Sugar Daddy are excellent, served up in enormous coffee mugs.
The seating and décor could definitely use some updating, and the temperature always seems to be stifling in the summer. However, the first bite of one of their fabulous desserts makes up for it and immediately sends you into a state of bliss.

I used to hang out here often, now I just stick to my own hood. I always loved their pasty’s, beef or veg both good. When the boy’s were growing up, all birthday cakes came from here. Chocolate only, didn’t care for white, they always put a lemon filler in it. They have a good variety of cookies, cake, pie, danish, and bars. Still serve quiche. Glad they took away the clothes to make more room. But that space needs to be funkified. They don’t have half the good stuff for sale when Melissa owned it. I couldn’t afford it all anyway. Maybe it’s me, but it doesn’t have the same energy.

I went to Jerabek’s with high hopes that it was a hidden gem of an independent, family-​run café in a remote location of the Twin Cities. Ultimately, it didn’t fulfill my full hopes, but it does have some charms.
I love the atmosphere there. It seems to attract regulars and lots of locals who sit and read the newspaper over a cup of coffee. It definitely feels like a neighborhood hang-​out spot for people young and old alike. The vibe is cozy and familiar.
But they don’t offer interesting vegan stuff. I thought they’d have two or three vegan baked goods, but all they had was a «crispie» (a flaky pastry filled with either cherry or apple) which wasn’t labeled as being vegan. The staff actually deliberated a while before deciding that it was, in fact, vegan. It was tasty enough and quite cheap ($ 2) but somehow I have a feeling that it wasn’t actually vegan.
They don’t have any interesting drinks. They use crappy Oregon Chai like most other places, but their soy milk was a brand I’ve never seen or heard of (Moon Rose), that was fairly decent.
I like that they give a 15% discount to Minnesota Public Radio members.
In conclusion: Jerabek’s has nice atmosphere but isn’t all that vegan-​friendly or original in its offerings.