Twin Cities Baker Square units add free ‘Wi-Pie’ accessTwin Cities Baker Square units add free ‘Wi-Pie’ access

MINNEAPOLIS All 25 Bakers Square restaurants in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area have added free Wi-Fi internet access, according to the family-restaurant chain’s parent company, Vicorp Restaurants Inc.

The service is being marketed as Wi-Pie, a tongue-in-cheek reference to Bakers Square’s heritage as a pie specialist.

“More and more people have remote offices and want a comfortable spot to work or catch up on their e-mails,” Bakers Square president Tim Casey said in a statement. “We invite them to visit a Bakers Square hotspot and ‘surf’ over a piece of our award-winning pie.”

The chain did not say why it added the service just in the Twin Cities area or if the amenity would be rolled out to other locations.

Denny’s, a rival of Bakers Square, is testing Wi-Fi service at select franchised units in Southern California. A supplier involved in the tests said the service would be rolled out into dozens of additional units in Florida, Texas and North Carolina.

Denver-based Vicorp also is the parent of the Village Inn family-restaurant brand. Between the two brands, Vicorp operates 312 restaurants and franchises another 93 in 25 states.