Billy & Jessica Pearse: Owners
Hello, friends! We're Billy and Jessica. We're a husband-and-wife team living happily in Minnetonka, Minnesota. By day, we’re at our full-time jobs—and by night, we’re baking up British treats that bring us back to memories with Nana during our travels to England.
The main idea for our business began with spotting what we found to be a void in the culinary market, after enjoying a local pastry together one Saturday morning. We asked the question: Why aren’t there proper British scones in the Twin Cities?
Whenever we’d visit England, we’d have the most delicious ones in rural village tearooms, filled with various dried fruits and regionally loved flavors. They had three distinct features much different from their American counterparts: (1) they were round, (2) just slightly sweet, and (3) rarely spoiled by icing.
We knew then that we wanted to do much more than change the way people see (and taste) a scone—we wanted to show the community just how special British baked goods are, with the spirit and soul of Nana at the forefront of our mission.
From there, we researched and tested countless traditional recipes to create the collection you see today—and we add new and seasonal options throughout the year!
We live for family, friends, food, and fantastic adventures together. And today, we call ourselves the chief baking officer (Jessica) and chief tasting officer (Billy) for one big reason—we have a serious passion for serving our Twin Cities community through food.
xoxo, Jessica and Billy Pearse
Blanche Wade: The Name Behind Nana's
Her name was Blanche Mary Wade, but we knew her only as Nana. She was the sort of nana—the British term for grandmother—every family dreams of.
Nana was a truly remarkable lady whose optimism, class, and ceaseless dedication to family will always be cherished dearly by all who loved and knew her. She loved playing cards with our family and placing bets on each game—she even had old jam and peanut butter jars for each of us to put our betting coins in, and she brought them out whenever we’d travel to England. She loved staying up late each night to watch all sorts of sports. She loved wearing pearls and watching birds in her back garden. She was happily married for 56 years. She was an absolute good to this world.
And inside her cozy bungalow in Colchester, her kitchen cabinets were always filled to the brim with food—but there was this one big tin that she'd always stock with our favorite British biscuits and treats whenever we'd visit, which we remember fondly. Though 4,000 miles away, Nana's was a second home—a retreat from the everyday, a warm gathering place filled only with love and unforgettable memories.
We are always brought back to those memories whenever we think of her. We know she’ll be with us in our business—and we hope that her legacy will live on through all that we pursue, as bakers and as businessowners.
Our Vision for Nana's Bake Shoppe
With our passion for all that we bake and create, we hope to connect a bridge from across the pond by baking up British delights filled with the same warmth and love that Nana had—that love that is so familiar to all of us and our grandmothers. We hope that through our treats, you are reminded about the wonderful memories at your own nana's house growing up and the special moments you shared together.
Our love for Nana's Bake Shoppe shines through all of our recipes, built from and inspired by decades-old British cookbooks passed along lovingly from family. We believe there are few things that can connect people in the way that food does. Serving others through food leads to real connections and real community—simply put, it is what we are hungry for.
Our vision is clear: we’re here to serve you by baking memories, one British treat at a time. And with every delight that you enjoy, you get us one step closer to our dream of opening a brick-and-mortar spot, right here in the Twin Cities—the place we’re proud to call home.