When lifelong friends Xiong Xiong and Xiong Thao started X2 Pastries in 2017, they had no plans to open a bakery; they were only looking for supplemental income. For years, Xiong and Xiong spent their weekdays working full-time jobs and their weekends selling baked goods at farmer’s markets across the Twin Cities metro, where their banana bread, sourdough loaves, and macarons quickly became hits among market goers.

With their quickly growing popularity came the need for a larger workspace. In 2021, Xiong and Xiong moved their baking operations from a home kitchen to a shared commercial kitchen. But even this was not enough to meet soaring demand.

By 2023, the business partners had left their full-time jobs to focus on growing X2, and they decided that it was time to find a permanent home to open their own bakery. After securing a 504 loan from the SBA, Xiong and Xiong found the perfect commercial building for sale on St. Clair Avenue in St. Paul. They eventually contacted MCCD in search of the final gap funding needed to make the purchase.

“The real challenge at this time,” according to Xiong Xiong, “was the interest rates.” Xiong and Xiong had spoken with several lenders before approaching MCCD, but they were often facing interest as high as 9%. Working closely with Trish DeAnda, MCCD’s Chief Financial Officer, X2 Pastries applied for a $230,000 gap loan from MCCD, with a rate which Xiong Xiong recalls was “even lower than what we were originally looking for.” The loan was approved in November 2024, and by that December the business partners closed on the purchase of their first commercial property.

Three months later, Xiong and Xiong are moving at the speed of light to renovate the property, which was previously a yoga studio, into their dream bakery. The space will include a retail section for customers to browse through and purchase baked goods that were challenging or impossible to sell at farmer’s markets, especially full cakes. “Now,” Xiong Thao says, “we get to be more creative with what we make and sell.”

The official brick and mortar X2 Pastries will open in May 2025, and they are excited to be a neighborhood bakery in St. Paul’s Macalester-Groveland community. Stay tuned for information on X2’s official opening date on Facebook and Instagram.

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