New Fargo coffee shop will feature viral fruit dessert and Vietnamese coffee

Alyssa Goelzer / The Forum By Stephanie Dickerson Today at 6:03 AM Listen Comments Share Share this article News Reporting News Reporting Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. The Trust Project What is this? FARGO — Tan Tran and Sophie Le hope to give Fargo-Moorhead coffee drinkers a reason to slow down and try something different when Crème Coffee & Pastry opens later this month. The coffee shop, at 2911 45th St. S., will hold a soft opening Nov. 19, followed by a grand opening Nov. 21, the married owners said. During the grand opening, 15% of net proceeds will be donated to the Great Plains Food Bank to feed local children. ADVERTISEMENT Vietnamese coffee will be central to the menu, reflecting the owners’ connections to the country and its coffee culture. Tran and Le have spent the last few months not only renovating a completely “down to the dirt” commercial space into a coffee shop, but have been traveling across the country and even back to Vietnam to learn more about coffee preparation. Alyssa Goelzer / The Forum The owners attended coffee conventions in San Diego, Florida and Las Vegas as they developed the shop’s offerings. “Vietnamese coffee is very rich,” Le said. “Good flavor and smooth.” Rather than relying on flavored syrups, Vietnamese coffee traditionally gets much of its sweetness from condensed milk, Le explained. Crème Coffee will use a blend of robusta and arabica beans to balance the strength of the coffee with its aroma. “Robusta, that will give you that kick of the strong coffee, but Arabica will give you the aroma of the coffee,” Le said. The menu will also include espresso drinks and matcha drinks featuring flavors such as strawberry, mango and peach. The owners are planning specialty cold foams, including crème brûlée and egg cream varieties, as well as fruit teas, Italian sodas and desserts. Alyssa Goelzer / The Forum Food offerings will include croissants, chocolate croissants and croffles — croissant dough cooked in a waffle maker — with toppings such as Biscoff, Oreo, banana, and Nutella. ADVERTISEMENT The menu will also feature other pastries, a selection of ice cream and the viral fruit-shaped mousse desserts — 3D-sculpted desserts that look and taste like fruit. The owners have purchased several varieties from a bakery near Minneapolis, including mango, lemon, strawberry, Dubai chocolate pistachio and coffee. The coffee and pastry shop is intended to offer customers more than a quick cup of coffee, Tran and Le said. “We want you to take… and enjoy the flavor,” Tran told The Forum. Consistency is another priority as the owners prepare to serve customers. They want people to receive the same quality drink whether they visit at the beginning or end of the week. “We want consistency,” Tran said. “Monday, you drink the same coffee you’re going to have on Saturday, and you’ll be able to enjoy it both times.” With national coffee chains and drive-thru shops continuing to expand in the Fargo-Moorhead area, Tran and Le hope to give customers another option while introducing more people to Vietnamese coffee. Because of a stronger coffee blend, Crème cup sizes are smaller, as the coffee is intended to be sipped slowly. ADVERTISEMENT Alyssa Goelzer / The Forum Just like the flavor of their matcha, Tran and Le describe their coffee shop as earthy. Located in a corner storefront, the space has large windows that bring in plenty of natural light, reflecting off the shop’s white-hued floors, walls and marble tables. A booth with succulents sits near the center of the shop, offering customers a place to sit while they wait for their drinks inside. A drive-thru is also planned, though the owners are waiting for equipment to arrive. They expect it to open a few weeks after the grand opening. Alyssa Goelzer / The Forum Crème Coffee is connected to Dreamland, an indoor playground the owners are also involved with. The idea for the coffee and pastry shop partly came from Dreamland customers who wanted a nearby place to get coffee and treats while their children played. The businesses will have an interior connection, allowing customers to move between the coffee shop and playground without going outside. Tran and Le are working on making the connecting area soundproof so noise from the playground does not carry into the coffee shop. Inspired by the Dreamland’s family-focused atmosphere, Crème Coffee and Pastry will also offer a selection of kids' drinks and ice cream. Alyssa Goelzer / The Forum For the owners, the project represents a new kind of business venture. Tran, a local real estate agent, said he helped build out the previous vacant commercial space from the ground up to turn it into what he and his wife envisioned. They hope Crème Coffee will introduce more people in the area to Vietnamese coffee and give customers another place to gather. ADVERTISEMENT “We want our community to try something that they would like, ‘Oh, you know what? It’s actually not like a fast-food type of coffee,’” Tran said. Alyssa Goelzer / The Forum The couple wants to give back to the community that they know and love. Le has lived in the Fargo area since she moved there at a young age. She attended North Dakota State University, studied radiology and completed an internship at Sanford in Bismarck. She now works at Sanford in Fargo, performing CT scans and mammograms. Tran also has experience in the medical field, previously working as a pharmacy technician in Texas, later holding positions with Blue Cross and Wells Fargo before becoming a real estate agent. The couple plans to operate Crème Coffee alongside their other jobs. Crème Coffee & Pastry plans to be open every day except Wednesday, with hours from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The owners said they may open later on Sundays, around 9 or 10 a.m. Once the drive-thru is operating, they plan to extend morning hours to 6 a.m. Comments Share Share this article News Reporting News Reporting Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. The Trust Project What is this? Tags Tags RESTAURANTS AND BARS FOOD SMALL BUSINESS NORTH DAKOTA FARGO LOCAL BUSINESS By Stephanie Dickerson Stephanie joined The Forum in January 2024 as a junior in college. She is currently a reporter for the Business and Features team. 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