After announcing its closure planned for the first week of June, Vanilla Bean isn’t going away after all.
The business will stay open at 6805 Odana Road through June 11 before new owners Kate and Chuck Teasdale take over the store.
The store will move to downtown Middleton on Hubbard Avenue, with the couple aiming to reopen the store in the fall.
Vanilla Bean, which has been in business for 43 years, had previously said it would close due to a rent increase.
For the Teasdales, who both grew up in the Madison area, Vanilla Bean is a Madison institution.
“We couldn’t bear to see it go,” Kate Teasdale said. “That’s how we ended up getting connected with them.”
She said she grew up going to Vanilla Bean, which sells baking supplies, decorating equipment and kitchen tools, with her mom.
“Many of my memories actually involve coming in with my mom to pick up tools for her crafts,” Teasdale said. “She would use baking tools from the Vanilla Bean to make her bread dough ornaments which she would sell at craft shows when I was a kid.”
More recently, Teasdale found herself needing plastic spiders for a Halloween pizza at Riley Tavern, which she and her husband previously owned. And the Vanilla Bean delivered.
“It was last minute and I was sure that the Vanilla Bean would have some even though none of the other party stores did,” she said. “I was right — the Vanilla Bean came through clutch with the plastic spiders and saved my spooky pizza night.”
When it comes to the community’s response, Teasdale isn’t alone with fond memories.
“Looking at the social media response… it’s clear it’s a nostalgic place for a lot of people,” she said. “Really a staple of the community. It’s one of those places where if you need something, you know you can go there and find it.
“It’s just such a better experience than going on Amazon and buying something from a nameless website.”
When the Teasdales reopen the store, there are certain must-have products they will have in stock, thanks to guidance from the previous owners on such essentials. But they also plan on adding new things when it comes to products and experiences.
They’re working with Destree Design Architects on building out the space, which will be roughly 2,000 square feet, like Vanilla Bean’s original Odana location.
The couple have owned several taverns, so they know how to run a business, even if it is going from beer to baking.
Chuck Teasdale was the most recent and fourth-generation owner of the Silver Dollar Tavern at 117 W Mifflin St. It was in his family for 90 years. He and Kate also owned the Riley Tavern along the Military Ridge Bike Trail at 8205 Klevenville-Riley Road in Verona, selling that last March.
“This is just one of those places. … It’s a Madison institution but it’s a small, family-run business,” he said about purchasing Vanilla Bean, even though the couple wasn’t necessarily looking for a new business endeavor.
“Part of being in downtown Middleton means that we’re exposed to a lot more foot traffic, part of a larger group of community businesses,” Kate Teasdale said. “So, we’re looking at bringing in new products to bring in new faces and expanding the class schedule.”
The couple is excited to be a part of the next chapter and being able to honor the business’ long history.
Kate Teasdale said Vanilla Bean had numerous vintage cake pans on display which will make the move to the new location. And even these pans invoke memories.
“I have vivid memories of a Popple cake at a friend’s birthday party in the 1980s,” she said. “I thought it was just the coolest and I’m sure my friend’s mom got her supplies from the Vanilla Bean because everyone’s mom did.
“I mentioned it to Kelly Bodie (the daughter of the owners who currently manages the Vanilla Bean) this week when I was at the store and she said ‘Oh!’ and came back with the exact 1980s Popples cake pan that I remembered.”
The Teasdales hope to make those very same kinds of memories for others.
