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SME Monthly Seminar

Location: Doubletree Park Place Hotel,  1500 Park Place Blvd., Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States 55416

Speaker Presentation
Making Dough?
Martha Rossini Olson, founder of Sweet Martha’s Cookie Jar

Join us as we welcome Martha Rossini Olson, founder of Sweet Martha’s Cookie Jar, for a morning seminar of delicious advice and enticing insights intothe world of entrepreneurial success

A Saint Paul native, Martha Rossini Olson (a.k.a. Sweet Martha) has been selling her oven-hot, baked on the spot chocolate-chip cookies for over 25 years. Along with her partners, husband Gary Olson and life-long friend Neil O’Leary, Martha created a sweet treat that has not only reached its height of success at the Minnesota State Fair but also has spread to homes state-wide through its popular frozen cookie dough sold in grocer’s freezers. Martha, an elementary art teacher by day, cookie queen by night, claims the idea of cookies was partly luck. Beginning their entrepreneurship in the late 1970’s with a yogurt shop in downtown Minneapolis, Martha, Gary, and Neil recognized the popularity of cookies through the sales of Famous Amos cookies.

Though they had applied for years to the State Fair to sell frozen yogurt, they did not get in until they asked to open a chocolate-chip cookie stand. That was nearly thirty years ago and no one had thought of a similar idea. The first 9- by 11-foot booth soon turned into two small buildings each holding over 5 large Baxter oven’s to constantly cook the thousands upon thousands of miniature cookies. Sweet Martha’s Cookie Jar has built their reputation on word-of-mouth recommendation as well as appearing at other events such as the Minnesota Street Rod show and the Taste of Minnesota. As Martha says, “Some say our cookies taste better than Mom’s!”

GET THE MEMBER-RATE REBATE AND SAVE UP TO $50!

Not a member yet? Register at the non-member rate and join SME less than 30 days after the event, and we'll apply the difference between the non-member rate and the member rate to the cost of your membership. Just send us a copy of your membership application along with your receipt for "non-member" registration. You'll get up to $50 off the cost of membership.