FARGO — Andrea Baumgardner’s cooking is inspired by her world travels and exploring exotic cookbooks, but her culinary journey began just 150 feet north of Birnbaum’s, the popular restaurant in downtown Fargo.
She’s opened three restaurants in the 23 years since returning to Fargo, but it was Bernbaum’s, which she opened eight years ago (offering an unlikely blend of Scandinavian and Jewish flavors), that brought the chef national acclaim; earlier this year, she received her second James Beard Award nomination, America’s restaurant industry’s highest honor.
“It’s very flattering to have the recognition that maybe you’re doing something right,” she said in her usual humble tone, “and I’ve never been one to be blessed with overconfidence.”
Maybe her humility comes from her Icelandic roots or from more than 30 years in a restaurant culture that dismisses overconfidence, but it’s not an act: Baumgardner is as quick to praise a competent dishwasher as she is to praise a celebrity chef.
Birnbaum’s chef and co-owner Andrea Baumgardner slices bagels in the kitchen of Birnbaum’s on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, in downtown Fargo.
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Just around the corner from the hot breakfast and lunch spot that’s now Zandbroz Variety, the chef cut his teeth in the food industry working behind the counter at Leeby’s, a deli and grocery store, in the 1980s.
While working there as a summer employee during her high school years, Baumgardner discovered that there was a lot more to cheese than Kraft. The store became a go-to place for a variety of cheeses, deli meats, and freshly baked breads. She learned not only from the people she worked with behind the counter, but also from the customers who came in looking for more than what was available in the supermarkets at the time.
“It was really fascinating. It was impactful,” Baumgardner said.
Her then-owner noticed her interest in cooking and encouraged her to go to culinary school, but she instead attended Macalester College in St. Paul, where she majored in French. During her time in France, she was amazed by the quality and simplicity of the food her host family prepared for her every day.
“Every dinner was a three-course meal and dessert,” Baumgardner said. “I ate like the devil.”
Birnbaum’s chef and co-owner Andrea Baumgardner prepares an order in the restaurant’s kitchen on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, in downtown Fargo.
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After college, Baumgardner followed the advice she’d received at Levy’s and enrolled in the Culinary Academy of California in San Francisco, which led to an interning session at Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California, where famous chef Alice Waters helped popularize the farm-to-table movement.
After years working in California restaurants, Baugardner returned to Fargo and opened a restaurant at the Hotel Donaldson in 2001. She opened Green Market, a Levy’s-inspired restaurant and grocery store, in 2006. She moved the store twice and closed it in 2013 to take a consulting job and spend evenings with her husband, Brett Bernas, and their young son, Avi.
A few years after leaving the restaurant, as Avi grew up, Baugardner felt the call to return to the kitchen, but she didn’t want to work nights. She and Bernas talked about what was missing in downtown Fargo, and their shared answer was a bagel shop. Bernas’ bagels were a Saturday morning staple at the Greenmarket.
They agreed to set up a New York-style lunch counter in part of Mid Mod Madhouse, a midcentury modern furniture store on Roberts Street.
BernBaum’s owners, chef Andrea Baumgardner and her husband, Brett Bernas, are at the first location.
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Bernbaum’s, a combination of their surnames, her Scandinavian roots and his Jewish heritage, opened in March 2016.
They started cooking on a vintage electric stove behind the counter, but soon outgrew their original plans: BernBaum’s took over, and the couple decided to focus on the restaurant full time.
Five years ago they opened in their current location on Broadway.
Baugardner wasn’t surprised that people quickly jumped on the dish, since bread and bagels are a consistent theme throughout the cooking, as are the sweet and sour combinations of the Nordic and Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine of Central Europe that she loves.
BernBaum’s at 402 Broadway.
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Birnbaum’s makes about 1,200 bagels a week, with the majority of them going into its popular bacon, egg and cheese sandwich, a suggestion Bernas initially met with skepticism. Like the chicken walnut sandwich and chicken matzo ball soup, the sandwich has proven to be a consistent hit, selling consistently even on hot summer days.
“There were a lot of people who were born adventurous, and as a growing town, people expect more adventurous food,” she said.
The restaurant has been featured in national newspapers and food and travel magazines. Now Baumgardner is closer to telling her story. The cookbook has been in the works for years and is close to publication; she says the project is about 85 percent complete.
While the flavors and textures may initially seem adventurous to standard Midwestern palates, the food, dining room and staff all make it a second home for many.
“Birnbaum’s has a core of people who care about food, and I’m so grateful for that. We’ve created a restaurant that’s a little emotionally tender,” Baumgardner said. “The space and the food make people feel comfortable. That’s not something you can design, it just happens naturally.”
A toy oven wall filled with messages left by patrons was photographed at Birnbaum’s in downtown Fargo on Tuesday, March 26, 2024.
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In addition to the food and the people, the restaurant has its own aesthetic, including leftover midcentury art from the Mid-Mo era and a collection of little toy ovens hanging on the walls. Over the years, patrons have taken to leaving drawings and messages in the ovens.
“There’s probably some really cool stuff in there,” Baugardner said. “It’s great that people are choosing to participate. It’s the people that make it fun.”
She said the restaurant’s success is a team effort, with everyone relying on everyone else’s work.
“I think serving simple dishes is difficult. It’s all about the accumulation of small details,” she said, adding that the restaurant relies on the front and back of the house working in tandem.
Getting everyone on the same page is important not only for serving great food, but also for creating a healthy work environment.
A wall of merchandise and takeout items will be on display at BernBaum’s in downtown Fargo on Tuesday, March 26, 2024.
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“People who work at Birnbaum’s can work anywhere in their local area, and I think they like that we’re trying to foster a different restaurant culture than the one Brett and I grew up in,” she said.
The restaurant hosts monthly dinners showcasing the talents of its staff, with each menu being prepared by a different staff member: Chefs Candice Stock and Edward Rodriguez will be serving up an Indigenous dinner reflecting Native American culture, a former dishwasher will be serving up Southern soul food favorites, and Chef Lauren Zoback will be creating a barbecue grab-and-go menu for Memorial Day weekend.
The diversity of the menu reflects not only the diversity of the staff (about 75% are women and about 50% are members of the LGBTQ+ community) but also the diversity of the community.
Oliver Jensen worked at the restaurant for nearly three years, rising to become front-of-house manager, but also gained fame by designing Bernbaum’s colorful T-shirts for LGBTQ Pride celebrations with the phrase “Don’t give in to the bastards” in rainbow colors.
A Transport Fund box was set up at Birnbaum’s in downtown Fargo on Tuesday, March 26, 2024 to collect donations.
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As a transgender man, he feels welcomed to be himself here.
“One of the reasons I’ve been here so long is because I’m happy with my identity here. It’s much better than other restaurants I’ve worked at,” he says. “The staff and customers are all wonderful. I’ve never had a bad experience. It really gives you confidence that people can be kind.”
A donation box has been set up on the display counter near the register to benefit Trans Portation ND, which supports people who travel to receive gender-affirming medical care.
“The people who work for us help us understand where the real world is. It’s enriching for each of us to have relationships with people who are different from us,” Baumgardner says. “Why not have the bigger world?”
