History as it Happens: Hans’ Bakery’s Easter traffic jam

By Rebecca Ebnet-Desens

American culture loves its fast cars, its freedom and its food. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 quarantine has taken a swipe at all three lifestyle pinnacles. But, as tradition would have it, the Anoka County community has fought back with resilience and innovation.

Like many other restaurants in Anoka County, Hans’ Bakery has moved to limited online ordering during this time of uncertainty. The unprecedented rush they experienced on Easter weekend speaks to the truth in their advertising — they really are “History in the Baking.”

Located on Fifth Avenue South in Anoka, Hans’ has occupied that location since 1974 according to city directories, when founders Hans and Traudy Birkner opened their doors. After Hans passed away, his wife sold the business. After changing hands one more time, the building went into foreclosure and stood empty for four years. When Kelly Hettwer Olsen and her husband, Ben Olsen, purchased it six years ago, vandals had stolen the copper from the building, among other damage.

Still using the original flour dusted recipe cards to produce delicacies like beehives and cinnamon rolls, Hettwer Olsen said community members felt a jolt in their daily routines of dropping in to collect treats for coworkers, grandkids or maybe just themselves. Calling back employees for a three-day baking spree, she held her breath as the orders began to roll in.

The cars followed the orders, as the Easter weekend rush created a traffic jam such as Anoka hasn’t seen during the month of quarantine. Customers parked single file along Fifth Avenue, and at times stretched down Main to Third Avenue, waiting for nearly two hours, as people anticipated the crowning glory to their virus-altered family meal.

“I was out there checking people in, and they’d have the name in the window, and I’d move them to the top of Google sheets we were using for communication,” Hettwer Olsen said. “Most lined up from the north, but a few came from the south and tried to cut in the line. I was all the way down the street, and we didn’t have their name and order there — it put a strain on the system. We’ve made adjustments now.”

Mare than 180 comments appeared on the bakery’s Facebook page within 24 hours, echoing the sentiment, “Thanks for making this holiday memorable.” Many residents reported picking up the treats to deliver to housebound family members who simply needed a taste of home to make the solitary day more palatable. Others admitted to eating tomorrow’s portion a day early. Still others expressed gratitude for the three-day effort by Hans’ staff to produce the food for distribution. Pictures of children with giant doughnuts, grinning at the idea of a chocolaty mess ahead of them, joined a deluge of comments expressing gratitude for how Hans’ Bakery provided a sliver of the life everyone took for granted just one month ago.

“It was always busy, but in the store it’s one-body deep on Saturdays,” Hettwer Olsen said. “Then you see cars stretched all the way to the courthouse — it’s overwhelming.”

This piece is part of a series of pieces in partnership with the Anoka County Historical Society documenting aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic for future generations.