Small Business Spotlight: FRGMNT Coffee

Article by Becky Fillinger, photos provided

Sarah Roehl and Ben Banse

Ben Banse and Sarah Roehl are co-owners of FRGMNT Coffee. Their newest location is on Historic St. Anthony Main in Riverplace at 43 SE Main Street, and the business is coming to the Mill District, too! We spoke to them about getting started in the coffee business and their ideas on gorgeous interiors that complement their beverages.

 Q:  A 2022 article mentions FRGMNT replicates a model in which a relatively small footprint opens to a spacious public area and a whole world of coffee. Can you tell us more about this model and how you’ve used it in your three locations?    

A:  All three of the coffee shops operate in shared lobbies of various buildings – in the North Loop at The Nordic,729 Washington Avenue N, in the newly renovated Riverplace at Main Exposition Hall on historic St. Anthony Main, and in the One Southwest Crossing Building in Eden Prairie. This allows our guests to enjoy a spacious environment in a variety of different settings according to the buildings' designs. It also allows us to open our doors to more people and share some of the best coffees from around the globe with them. 

Above and below, FRGMNT Coffee in Riverplace

Q:  In addition to serving delicious coffee, your locations are aesthetically gorgeous. Do you use a designer to create your ambiance?   

A:  The buildings we are a part of have partnered with a few different designers to bring our spaces to life. The North Loop and Eden Prairie locations were designed by Studio BV, and the St. Anthony Main location was designed by Perkins & Will. We have loved working with each team and we are grateful for their attention to detail in these spaces.

Q:  How did you two get into the coffee business? 

Ben: I’m a veteran of the Twin Cities coffee scene. I was part of the opening team of several cafes (such as Bachelor Farmer Cafe, Northern Coffeeworks, and Parallel) in various different roles. All the while I kept thinking about opening my own coffee shop and started taking action toward that in 2019.

Sarah: I’m a long-time friend of Ben’s and when it came time to start FRGMNT, I answered a few questions about the business side of things and decided that I wanted to be a part of this venture. We’re now co-owners of three cafes and have more planned for the future. 

Q:  How do you procure your coffee and tea? Do you sell the coffee beans for home brewing? 

A:  All our tea offerings are from Spirit Tea out of Chicago; we have partnered with them for our tea since we opened our doors in 2019. Our coffees are a different story. We have an ever-growing roster of national and international roasters that we partner with to bring the best coffees in the world to Minnesota. We have partners all the way from the Czech Republic to Iowa. 

We do offer tea and coffee for home brewing, which can be purchased at any of our locations, as well as online for shipping.

Q:  What’s your favorite beverage on your menu? 

A:  It's an always-changing answer, but we do have a menu of rotating limited drinks and currently, the favorite is the Java Bird. It is made with cold brew, pineapple juice, red bitters, and lime. It's a nice treat that reminds us that warmer weather is coming. 

Q:  Do you have another location on the drawing board? 

A:  We do! We are planning on opening in the Mill District this Spring inside Open Book. This has been a long time in the making and we are excited to be bringing our offerings to this neighborhood.

Q:  That’s wonderful news! How may we stay up to date with FRGMNT coffee?

A:  You can follow us on Instagram at @frgmntcoffee to stay up to date on all happenings.