A farmers market favorite is setting up shop in Sunnyside this summer
Moon Raccoon Baking Co. is the product of two friends in love with electronic dance music and laminated dough.
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The owners of Moon Raccoon Baking Co. were used to splitting their summer weekends in Denver between vending at farmers markets and dancing at electronic music shows.
This year, they’ll put the parties on pause as they prepare to open their first bakery and storefront at 2839 W. 44th Ave. But before they can open — possibly as soon as July — the property needs to be outfitted with kitchen equipment.
“We’re completely building a bakery from the ground up inside of this warehouse,” said co-owner Zoe Deutsch, who lives just north of her new workspace in Chaffee Park. The building will share the space with Sfoglina Handmade Pasta.
Deutsch and business partner Kate Lange were co-workers at another local bakery — they declined to say which because it was a bitter exit — with dreams of starting their own enterprises. Seeing as they both were passionate about croissants and “laminated dough,” Lange said, they teamed up instead, opening Moon Raccoon at the beginning of 2020.
The duo took orders through Instagram and made their goods using locally sourced ingredients, Deutsch said. They moved their operations from their home kitchens into a commissary in 2021 and grew their following through their weekly presence at farmers markets around Denver.
They migrated to other commissaries as Moon Raccoon grew. Sharing kitchens and oven space was unpredictable and, over time, became limiting, Lange said.
Architect Kevin Nguyen, responsible for the interiors of restaurants such as Sap Sua and Hop Alley, designed the new Moon Raccoon Baking Co. Lange and Deutsch are most excited about the new ovens, where they can size up just how many chocolate chip cookies, cruffins and honey pecan monkey bread they can bake in a day.
“We really love baking together,” Lange said. “The way we bounce ideas off of each other, the way we encourage each other, only grows and benefits the creative process between us.”
They’ve reinforced their personalities into their own brand, with Lange saying she identifies as queer and the pair touting themselves as “Denver’s Premier EDM Bakery” in their opening announcement — even if the new bakery means less time to go dancing.
The bakers and friends are brainstorming new creations in the lead-up to their grand opening, including a moon-shaped croissant and cream-filled pastries to line the shelves of their store’s retail freezer and refrigerator, they said.
They still plan on bringing Moon Raccoon Baking Co. to farmers markets this summer, including to the season openings at City Park and Lafayette the first weekend of May, what Deutsch referred to as “our Super Bowl.”
