BEMIDJI 鈥� An initial rejection didn't stop Brianna Lindgren from pursuing her dream of starting a franchise food business.
Brianna and her husband Jake introduced a food truck specializing in stuffed cookies to the Bemidji area last month.
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The Lindgrens first applied for a franchise with Crumbl Cookies. They had been thinking about getting into some sort of food franchise to go along with their regular jobs. But the Crumbl application 鈥� crumbled.
鈥淲e got a 鈥榥o鈥� from them,鈥� said Brianna, a Realtor with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate First Choice in Bemidji. 鈥淪o we kind of put it on the back burner.鈥�
A friend suggested they take a look at a different national cookie franchise operation called Dirty Dough. So on a trip to Brianna鈥檚 home state of Ohio, the couple and their two children stopped at three Dirty Dough stores to give the cookies a taste.
鈥淲e tried them, we loved them, the kids loved them,鈥� Brianna said. 鈥淲e really liked the concept, so once we found out that we could do a mobile trailer we were really all in.鈥�
They signed franchise papers in January of this year, and the Utah-based company started building the Lindgrens鈥� food truck. Earlier this spring the family took a road trip to Utah, where Jake and Brianna went through training before driving their new rig home to Bemidji.
According to the company鈥檚 website, Dirty Dough cookies are 鈥渆ngineered from the inside out, with every cookie featuring some combination of layers, mix-ins, or filling within the dough.鈥�
Examples are a chocolate chip stuffed with cookie dough, and 鈥淭he Reverse,鈥� a take on Reese鈥檚 with peanut butter on the outside and fudge on the inside.
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鈥淭he cookies are big,鈥� Brianna said. 鈥淚 really recommend people sharing them. I probably couldn鈥檛 eat a whole one. When we went to training we tried 16 different cookies in one day. It was crazy.鈥�
Dirty Dough was founded in 2018 by Bennett Maxwell, then a student at Arizona State University, who started out baking and selling cookies from his dorm room. Today the company has franchises across the country, in both brick-and-mortar stores and mobile operations.
Jake Lindgren, who grew up in Bagley, met Brianna about 10 years ago while they were on a mission to Haiti. After marrying, they lived in the Twin Cities for eight years, then moved to Bemidji a year and a half ago. Jake works for Provision Contractors, whose owner Rob Mahto was his youth pastor in Bagley.
Brianna is quite familiar with food franchising as her family owned KFC locations in Ohio.
鈥淚 grew up in my dad鈥檚 restaurant and started running around and playing in there when I was just a little girl,鈥� Brianna said. 鈥淚 started working there when I was 13 or 14 years old. I have some great memories of growing up in his restaurant and learning from him. I always kind of had a desire to get back into restaurant stuff. When we found this it just felt right.鈥�
Brianna has been pleased with the community response since Dirty Dough started setting up shop in late May. They have had the truck at McKenzie Place and the Hampton Inn and Suites and will be set up at myBemidji, 317 Beltrami Ave. NW, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, June 8.
They also have been at a graduation party, and plan to set up at weddings and fairs this summer. A grand opening event on June 1 at the Hampton Inn drew more than 200 customers, and about 900 cookies were served. They have hired three part-time employees to help with the business.
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鈥淲e鈥檝e been so blessed with people in the community embracing the idea and offering space to us,鈥� Brianna said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been really a community thing.鈥�
Information on times and locations for Dirty Dough will be posted each week on and
The Trust Project
