On June 1, Prioritized Pastries owner Alex McDonnell welcomed guests to a new shop in a familiar location.
After operating out of a South City storefront for the past several years, McDonnell recently relocated the vegan and gluten-free bakery to the space where the brand got its start, in the former Pie Oh My location at 2719 Sutton in Maplewood.
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The bakery is open from 9 a.m.–3 p.m. Friday through Sunday. Here’s what to know before you go.
The Menu
Prioritized Pastries has always been a vegan and gluten-free bakery, but the move to the Maplewood space has allowed McDonnell to provide an entirely nut-free space. “Since moving to this space, we decided to go completely nut-free; it’s a bit of a challenge being vegan, but we do challenges really well at this point,” says McDonnell. “We still get a lot of requests for other allergy-free items, and we can accommodate those, but being nut-free was really the last big one that we had to do to really be able to say we are inclusive.”
At the new Prioritized Pastries, guests can enjoy all of the greatest hits they’ve come to know and love, including the much-loved oatmeal cream pie. Other offerings include two flavors of cake by the slice: One will rotate, and the other will always be the signature rainbow layer cake. Muffins and seasonal scones (the current offering is strawberry rhubarb) are also always in stock, as well as coffee cakes, which feature such seasonal ingredients like peaches and cream.
McDonnell is excited to bring back the Sprinkle Bar, which she describes as her answer to a petit four, and she’s looking forward to expanding savory offerings courtesy of sous chef Shane Clasby. (McDonnell notes that Clasby’s first savory item, an elote scone, was the most complimented item of the bakery’s opening weekend.)
In addition to retail offerings, McDonnell accepts special orders for cupcakes, customized cakes, and other items, via Prioritized Pastries’ website.
The Space
According to McDonnell, the main driver of the bakery’s relocation had to do with the kitchen and storage space. “We really had outgrown [the Devonshire] space, because our wholesale business had gotten so big,” says McDonnell. “There wasn’t much of a kitchen in that space; it was tiny and in the middle of everything, so we had to take over the front-of-house for packaging and wholesale production. It was tiny and cramped, and everything…was piled on top of one another, literally and figuratively.”
When she looks back, McDonnell is shocked by what she and her sous chef were able to produce out of the old space, using minimal equipment and relying on a home-size refrigerator for storage. At the Maplewood location, which has ample cold and dry storage in the basement and main levels, McDonnell and her sous chef are able to buy larger quantities of ingredients at a time, which means they can produce more. It also frees them up to experiment because of the efficiency that provides. “The place looks small to the naked eye, but we now have places to build up our supply and stock,” says McDonnell. “This means that we are free to play around and do fun stuff that we always wanted to do but never had the time or space for.”
While the back-of-the-house side of the new location is massive, the customer-facing part is quite small. With just three bar stools and a small two-seat table, most of the business is takeout and special order pickup. The increased production has also allowed McDonnell to expand grab-and-go offerings, such as 6-inch cakes, cupcake four-packs, packaged cookies, and jarred desserts, which she believes will appeal to those with dietary restrictions who often have a difficult time grabbing desserts on the fly.
“We figured that if we are only open three days a week, we wanted them to be Friday through Sunday, because, as a parent, that is generally when you are going to need this stuff.”
The Backstory
A restaurant industry veteran, McDonnell realized the need for desserts that cater to different dietary needs after hearing from a friend and fellow mom that her son, who has celiac disease as well as a severe nut and egg allergy, had never had a birthday cake. It pulled at her heartstrings, and when she brought the boy a cake to a birthday party, she was inundated with requests from other attendees, who also needed desserts that catered to their individual needs.
McDonnell honed her pastry craft in culinary school and different kitchens across town, including BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, and The Libertine. She eventually decided to strike out on her own and build a business around something that felt not only in high demand but was also doing good for people who might otherwise not get to experience the joy of pastry.
For two years, she cooked out of Pie Oh My, in addition to offering her wares through specialty orders and local farmers’ markets. She then briefly moved her operation to the Encore Baking Company space in Maplewood before getting a shop of her own on Devonshire, where she built her wholesale business and created an expanded menu that she hoped would bring in robust dine-in business. Four months after opening the storefront, however, the entire world shifted during the pandemic. “After being through so much at that shop, we just needed a fresh start,” says McDonnell.
Now, McDonnell is thrilled to be in a new space with new energy, where the atmosphere is nostalgic but also represents a new chapter. “This is where I started,” she says. “It’s always been my home away from home. When I left Maplewood [five] years ago, I said I was going to be back, because it is my home. This opportunity felt like kismet—I just had to do it.”
