The decadent desserts from Russell’s Café and Bakery are now available to enjoy at home for the holidays and beyond. Chef/owner Russell Ping and his crew recently rolled out their delicious creations in the frozen foods sections at Fresh Thyme, Schnucks, Straub’s, and Wally’s. Customers can choose from gooey butter cake, Grammy’s carrot cake, brownies, and more.
What began as a pandemic pivot has become a new revenue stream for Russell’s. “We started shipping our frozen gooey butter cakes in 2020,” Ping recalls. “We got such a positive reaction from it, we started exploring the idea of a spinoff wholesale business.”
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After learning more about the logistics, Russell’s introduced its products at Schnucks in 2021. Ping had noticed a number of quality local options in freezer aisles but no high-end frozen desserts in local grocer’s freezer cases, Ping says. ” Because we don’t use any preservatives in our baked goods, selling frozen products seemed the way to go. We want to fill that niche.”
Russell’s bakes and ships out of the South City space that once housed Lola Jean’s, which changed directions during the pandemic to offer take-and-bake pizzas for a time. (Earlier this year, the pizza business shut down as Russell’s focused on wholesale baking—though Ping is keeping the coffee shop and pizza concepts on hold for the future.)
Faron Huster, general manager of the Macklind location, has helped Ping grow the new enterprise. “He’s been my right-hand man in growing this wholesale business,” Ping says. “For our first delivery to Schnucks, he and I rented a freezer truck and delivered the order ourselves.” Today, Russell’s has its own dedicated (and easily remembered) freezer truck to deliver product, and its Original Gooey Butter and Chocolate Chip Gooey Butter can be found at more than 100 Schnucks locations.
The brand has since partnered with several other well-known chains as well. Straub’s stocks the frozen treats at all four area locations, which also stocks Russell’s products in its bakeries. Midwest-based Fresh Thyme Market spans 70 stores in 11 states. And the sprawling Wally’s location in Fenton stocks Russell’s treats. “We’re also baking desserts for restaurants and event spaces,” Ping adds.
Ping is now looking to continue growing his premium frozen dessert business on a regional or national scale.
