New Vietnamese Coffee and Pastry Shop Crème Coffee to Open in Fargo

A new taste of Vietnam arrives in Fargo

Tan Tran and Sophie Le are preparing to open Crème Coffee & Pastry later this month, bringing a specialized Vietnamese coffee menu to the Fargo-Moorhead area, InForum reported.

The married owners plan to host a soft opening on Nov. 19, followed by a grand opening on Nov. 21 at 2911 45th St. S. To mark the debut, the shop will donate 15% of its net proceeds from the grand opening to the Great Plains Food Bank to support local children.

The business aims to provide an alternative to the rapid expansion of national coffee chains and drive-thru shops in the region. Rather than focusing on speed, the owners want to encourage a slower pace of consumption.

“We want you to take… and enjoy the flavor,” Tran told The Forum.

Crafting a specialized menu

Vietnamese coffee serves as the centerpiece of the menu, a choice driven by the owners’ personal connections to the country’s coffee culture. To achieve authentic results, the shop will utilize a blend of robusta and arabica beans.

The beans are selected to balance specific sensory profiles. According to Le, the robusta beans provide a “kick” of strength, while the arabica beans contribute the necessary aroma. Instead of relying heavily on flavored syrups, the shop will use traditional methods like condensed milk to provide sweetness.

The menu extends beyond traditional coffee to include several specialty items:

Matcha drinks featuring strawberry, mango, and peach flavors.
Specialty cold foams, including crème brûlée and egg cream varieties.
Fruit teas, Italian sodas, and 3D-sculpted fruit-shaped mousse desserts.
Pastries such as croissants, chocolate croissants, and “croffles”—croissant dough prepared in a waffle maker.

The owners have sourced several varieties of the viral fruit-shaped mousse desserts from a bakery located near Minneapolis, including mango, lemon, strawberry, coffee, and Dubai chocolate pistachio flavors.

Consistency remains a core operational goal for the new venture. Tran noted that the couple wants customers to receive the same quality of drink on a Monday as they would on a Saturday.

Tran renovated the commercial space with earthy interior design

The physical space at 2911 45th St. S. has undergone a significant transformation. Tran, a local real estate agent, helped renovate the commercial space from a “down to the dirt” state into its current form. The interior is designed to feel “earthy,” featuring large windows for natural light, white-hued floors, and marble tables.

Delicious millefeuille pastry with cream coffee

The shop is also physically connected to Dreamland, an indoor playground in which the owners are also involved. This connection allows customers to move between the playground and the coffee shop without going outside. To ensure the atmosphere remains suitable for coffee drinkers, Tran and Le are working to make the connecting area soundproof to block playground noise.

Because of the strength of the Vietnamese coffee blends, the shop will serve smaller cup sizes intended for slow sipping. While the primary focus is on the seated experience, a drive-thru is planned and expected to open a few weeks after the grand opening once equipment arrives.

The owners intend to balance the business with their existing professional lives. Le, who works at Sanford in Fargo performing CT scans and mammograms, and Tran, who works as a real estate agent, will operate the shop alongside their current roles.

Crème Coffee & Pastry is scheduled to be open every day except Wednesday, with hours from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Once the drive-thru is operational, the owners plan to extend their morning service to start at 6 a.m.

“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.

Worth a look