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Tina Rexing, the owner of T-Rex Cookie & Coffee Cafe, married into a great name for a business.
The mother of boys ages 13 and 15 is happy with the sweet spot she hit when she started her gigantic cookie business two years ago. "I can't get divorced now. If I do, I'm keeping my name," she said.
T-Rex is the home of half-pound and 5-pound cookies. Rexing will be selling them at the Minneapolis Farmers Market's Thursday location on the Hennepin County Government Center's south plaza starting next week. NBC's "Today Show" has showcased her cookies fit for a dinosaur. There may be more national exposure when the Martha Stewart-Snoop Dogg cooking show returns to VH1.
Rexing supplied the 5-pound version, popular at weddings and other big events, to the luxury suites at Wild playoff games. You need to skate like an NHLer if you're going to eat one by yourself.
When we talked, Rexing had just received the caloric info on the half-pound cookie: 687. You can do the math on the 5-pounder.
Q: You don't have to explain to me why you left corporate America, but what pushed you over the edge?
A: I had left Target to go to a different company. It was Fingerhut. I was there for six months. I had four bosses and three job titles. And on my fourth boss, I went home and said, "I think I'm going to quit." The very next day, I quit. I had no plans.
Q: Did you have any money saved up though?
A: No. Well, I'm also married. We have money saved. Yeah, it came as a shock for him because I had no plans. My [kids] thought I was crazy, too. You have dual incomes, right? You get used to a certain lifestyle like having season tickets to the Wild, having golf club memberships. We had to give all that up. So for them I think it's really good to see me do something I like to do. It's like a rule to say you really need to like what you're doing and not just go into a job because you feel like you have to.
Q: How many months into your business did "Today" find you?
A: Eight months. I launched the company, sold my first cookie May of 2015. I partnered with Minnesota Orchestra in October; they were selling my cookies during intermission. December I got a phone call from the "Today Show," because my Facebook followers voted for my cookie.
Q: Who was most fun on "The Today Show"?
A: I was on air maybe 45 seconds to a minute. So I met Al Roker. The funny part is that I watched "The Today Show" when it was Jane Pauley and Bryant Gumbel, so all these folks were new to me.
Q: You've caught the eye of Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart?
A: Yeah. After one of my videos, of me making a 5-pound-plus cookie, went viral and got 4 million-plus views, I got an e-mail from the producers of the show and they are trying to book me for the second season.
Q: Snoop's got to like his cookies?
A: I did say I was willing to make some alternate recipes [she laughed]; it's legal in L.A.
Q: When it comes to marketing yourself, Minnesotans are kind of laid back, but you're different.
A: I am, although I did grow up here. I was born in the Philippines, moved here when I was 2; I grew up in Fridley. I was always a little bit more outspoken than most people. Which is a perfect characteristic to be a small-business owner. Especially in the food industry. It's important to not only make a good product. Anyone can make a good cookie. You have to be able to tell your story.
Q: What makes your cookies so great? And don't tell me they are made with love.
A: They're not made with love. They're huge. Size matters. I have to stick to my brand. I did learn one thing when I was at Target: Know what your brand is.
Q: And you don't mind telling the secret to making your cookies moist and chewy inside? You press them into giant discs and freeze them.
A: Baking is funny. People take shortcuts and a lot of people don't like baking just because of the process.
C.J. can be reached at cj@startribune.com and seen on FOX 9's "Jason Show." E-mailers, please state a subject; "Hello" does not count.
