Rexburg’s Twisted Sugar opened on July 11 and offers a variety of sweet and salty snacks and treats. But for the owner, the sweets shop offers a way to fulfill her life’s calling.
Kimi Rinderknecht, the Rexburg location’s franchise owner, is a mom of four boys and lives on a ranch with her husband in Utah, who encouraged her to get into the franchising business.
“I have been a stay-at-home mom for a lot of years, and have a special needs son,” Rinderknecht said. “And my husband kind of pushed me into this position actually because it’s a job that I can pick my own hours and gives you so much flexibility and with a boy with special needs it was a very, very helpful that way.”
After opening a Twisted Sugar location in Tremonton, Utah and another in Idaho Falls, she said she had a prompting to call about the upcoming Twisted Sugar location in Rexburg. She called one of the franchise heads and was told the people who wanted to open in Rexburg had dropped out earlier that day.
“I just really had a lot of reservations,” Rinderknecht said. "And long story short, I have no clue why we’re here, to be honest, we just feel like this is where we’re supposed to be.”
Rinderknecht said her Rexburg college student workers have impressed her and she wants to help them see “they can do anything.”
“It feels like a mission. You’ve loved them and wanted them to know they’re loved,” Rinderknecht said. “I tell my employees, this is your place, you belong here.”
Rinderknecht said working with her Rexburg employees reminds her of herself when she was their age, and she wants to open their minds to the idea of more possibilities.
“And I feel like that’s what I’ve learned that our Heavenly Father wants us to dream, and He wants us to have our wants and desires, and He cares about them,” Rinderknecht said. “He cares about what we love. He cares about what we’re interested in and it’s important for me to be that person. I feel like that’s what I’m being called to do, be that person. They’re not just employees to me, they’re our friends.”
Rinderknecht said Twisted Sugar has a lot to offer including: their house made, simple ingredient cookies, a large assortment of drinks, dole whip desserts called Twisters, large pretzels and more.
In an effort to give back to the Rexburg community, Rinderknecht said this location will also offer a buy-one-get-one deal to all students of Rexburg, from elementary to college. Discounts are on Monday nights and work for pretzels and cookies.
For more information, visit the website at Twisted Sugar dot com.
To learn and hear more from Rinderknecht, listen to the full interview on BYU-Idaho Radio’s podcast on Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.