Brenda Sweeney says her mother-in-law, Patricia, started the cookie jar collection that has become a Raphael’s Bakery trademark.
Patricia and Raphael Sweeney had owned Sweeney’s Little Kitchen Bakery in Minneapolis, where she displayed her collection of cookie jars. She said they were good conversation starters. Over the years, she bought more cookie jars and was given others as gifts and the collection grew.
When Ray and Brenda Sweeney opened Raphael’s Bakery in Bemidji in 1989, the collection found a new home where it continues to start conversations and trigger memories. Brenda says she often hears, “My mom (or grandmother or aunt…) used to have one just like that!”
The cookie jars on display at any given time in the front windows of Raphael’s are just a sampling of the collection of well over 300, according to the most recent count in the fall of 2024. Season by season, patrons and passersby see different segments of the full collection.
This spring’s collection has flowers and animals, the Pillsbury Dough Boy, Garfield of cartoon fame, and storybook characters from Peter Rabbit to Humpty Dumpty to the cow that jumped over the moon.
Brenda has grown the collection. Although she hasn’t bought any, new ones keep coming. None of the jars on display has cookies inside, but many contain a slip of paper with the name of the donor.
Andrew Sweeney, Brenda and Ray’s 12-year-old grandson, knows which cookie jar is his favorite: Mike Wazowski, the charismatic one-eyed green monster from the movie "Monsters, Inc." Mike is one of several Disney-themed cookie jars that Brenda’s kids and grandkids have given her for Christmas over the past 20 years.
Andrew points out the Wazowski cookie jar in a small display case in the restaurant area near the door to the kitchen. Also in the case are Mickey Mouse, Winnie the Pooh, Tigger and even Darth Vader.
A larger display case behind the bakery counter has even more Disney characters: Pinocchio, Snow White, Cruella de Vil near a bright red cookie jar covered in dalmatian puppies, and Olaf the buck-toothed, carrot-nosed snowman from "Frozen."
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More cookie jars line the top of a wall and fill a third display case. Still more are stored upstairs. Brenda won’t name a favorite but does point out one that has gotten the most reaction: the police officer, which has caught many curious children (and adults) with their fingers in the cookie jar. If you think you’ll get away unnoticed, think again. Lift his cap — the lid — and the officer’s stern voice will order you to “Move away from the cookie jar!” loud enough to be heard throughout the restaurant’s seating area.
That jar is not in the front window this spring, but Andrew takes me upstairs where it and dozens more cookie jars wait until they’re brought into the seasonal rotation in the display windows.
Maria Sweeney, Brenda’s daughter-in-law, and her sister Angela Sanden — both key players in this extended family operation — swap out the cookie jars as the seasons change. Brenda says wait staff dust the display pieces when the restaurant and bakery aren’t packed with customers.
In storage currently, there are pumpkin cookie jars for fall; Santas, snowmen, and gingerbread for the holidays; several vintage McCoy cookie jars; a huge Hershey’s Kiss; and more celebrity cookie jars: the Hamms Bear, Raggedy Ann, Ernie and Cookie Monster (of course) from Sesame Street.
There are even several “vehicle” cookie jars: ceramic Wells Fargo stage coaches, a big green tractor, a train engine, a yellow taxi and a Volkswagen with a horn that beeps.
Brenda says sometimes people ask if they can buy a cookie jar, “But people gave us most of these,” she says. “They’re not for sale.” This reminds her to check to be sure that one of the cookie jars — donated by a snowbird patron — is on display now that its giver is back in the North Country.
Once, an antique dealer offered her a sizable sum for the Yogi Bear cookie jar that was among the earliest in Patricia’s collection. A similar one on eBay currently lists for $187.97. Raphael’s Yogi appears to be an earlier version of the eBay one, and it’s in excellent condition. But the “Not for Sale” policy applies to all of the cookie jars.
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Even when the bakery is closed, passersby pause outside the building to check out the cookie jars on display. Like the atmosphere in this busy Bemidji bakery/restaurant, the cookie jars are there to enjoy. And if your coffee group needs a conversation starter, you’ve got plenty from which to choose.
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