Moo’s Bakery is celebrating a milestone that’s been a long time coming. In early December, the plant-based bakery marked one full year since opening the doors to its College Hill storefront, just steps away from the UNI campus that shaped founder Maddie Palmersheim’s entrepreneurial journey.
During the week-long celebration, Moo’s shared daily reflections on social media about its first year in the space, revealing the challenges and growth behind the scenes while also thanking a community that has shown up in more ways than one.
Palmersheim is known for interacting with customers and keeping a high profile on social media. Customers were also treated to birthday-week specials, such as a free slice of cake with every order.
Palmersheim moved Moo’s Bakery to College Hill in 2024 after years of keeping an eye on the vacant shop tucked away next to Sharky’s.
“I always saw the potential in this little location,” she said. “I love the patio, the pathway and the general pushed back placement of the building.”
That hidden-gem atmosphere has become part of the bakery’s identity, showcasing the same slow-and-steady mindset that has defined the business since Palmersheim first developed Moo’s original menu item, deluxe brownies, in 2021.
As the bakery looks back on the past 12 months, Palmersheim shared something far more personal — the emotional toll of experiencing a tragedy last spring.
“In April, I experienced a loss that affected me emotionally and physically. Work was very difficult during this time,” she wrote in one of the anniversary reflections. “Our community was there for us a lot. I’m grateful. I’ve learned a lot about myself this year and have gained a lot of empathy for those who experience this.”
Honesty and transparency have become trademarks of Moo’s social presence, a mindset that formed while Palmersheim was a student at UNI’s John Pappajohn Entrepreneurship Center. There, she learned not just business strategy but also how personal life inevitably intersects with entrepreneurship.
That community support was on full display during the bakery’s birthday week. On day five of the celebration, something unexpected happened.
“Around 6:30 a.m. this morning, Chase (Maddie’s partner) announced we had our first friend waiting in line. None of us believed him,” she said. “And then our line grew to the end of the walkway and then around the fence and then down the sidewalk.”
With an opening time of 8 a.m., the team called the turnout “magical,” adding, “Thank you, this is really magical to experience for our team. We had so much fun serving you this morning and this past year.”
Palmersheim’s story started years before College Hill – inside classrooms, workshops and student entrepreneurship programs at UNI. Those experiences gave her not only a business foundation but also mentors, encouragement and a belief that Moo’s was worth building carefully, even slowly. 
“Slow and steady has been the model for my business from day one,” she said.
That model has now expanded beyond the bakery doors. With a growing team and a consistent customer base, Moo’s has begun contributing to the revitalization of College Hill itself, something Palmersheim always envisioned.
From a home bakery to now having lines down the sidewalk, Moo’s isn’t just celebrating a year in business; they’re celebrating resilience, community support and the kind of growth that happens when entrepreneurship and authenticity come together.
“Thank you for being there through all the phases,” she said on social media. “I mean that too. You trust us with your drinks and sweet little treats and we will always take that very seriously.”
