Carrie’s Crispies, the gourmet rice crispy treat business which has been selling at local farmers markets and events, will officially have its own retail space starting Wednesday, Sept. 30

The business, owned by Carrie and Brian Cieslak, open at 7133 W. Becher St., sporting a small retail space where customers can purchase their rice crispy treats as well as larger orders for parties and corporate events.

The Cieslaks, who launched their rice crispy treats business in 2015, have built their business on sales generated through events, catering and wholesale business with establishments including the West Allis Cheese and Sausage Shoppe (both locations), KitscheCoo Unique Gifts, Bougey's Bar and Grill and the Blum Coffee Garden.

“We started really small,” says Carrie Cieslak, noting that they made their first sales at the Greenfield Farmers Market. “At that time, we didn’t know what the demand would be. But it didn’t take long before people were coming to us for bulk orders and asking us to cater their weddings.” 

Carrie’s Crispies, which come in a broad range of flavors from original and birthday cake  to chocolate and peanut butter, s’mores, puppy chow, peanut butter cup, fruity rainbow and caramel brownie. 

And that’s not even a drop in the bucket. The Cieslaks have developed a catalog of around 100 flavors, including unique, amped-up creations like habanero berry and chocolate reaper. Even better, most of their treats are gluten-free.

What to expect

The Cieslaks were on the hunt for their own commercial kitchen space for some time, notes Brian.

“We knew we wanted our own kitchen,” he says. “But our goal was also to have a location where people could pick up the product on a regular basis. The City of West Allis was really helpful in terms of supporting our search for a new space and letting us know what buildings were available.”

So when they happened upon the former Dave's Famous Pickles, Peppers and Jams on Becher, it was a perfect fit. The 800 square foot building, which has been renovated to include a beautiful turquoise exterior, logo art by Super Creative, a commercial kitchen and small service counter where customers can purchase packaged products.

Once the retail shop is open, guests will find a broad selection of their popular rice crispie treats, including core and seasonal flavors, plus weekly specials featuring brand new creations, many inspired by customer requests. 

“It will be a great way to test out new flavors and see how people respond to them,” notes Carrie. 

Guests will also find hot Anodyne coffee, sold by the cup, as well as Urbal Tea for carry-out. In the coming weeks, the Cieslaks also expect to add a selection of sweet treats made by other local dessert companies in the area to their product selection.

They also hope to open up their new commercial kitchen space to other aspiring dessert entrepreneurs who are looking for commercial kitchen space.

“It’s amazing to have a place of our own, but we also want to pay it forward,” says Brian. “So we’d like to open up our kitchen to other small dessert businesses;  We had a lot of people help us out  along the way and we really want to be able to do the same.”

Beginning Sept. 30, Carrie’s Crispies will be open Wednesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.  

For more information, visit https://www.carriescrispies.com/ or follow Carrie’s Crispies on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.