A fourth generation is taking on a major leadership role at a popular Michigan hospitality business known for its family-style chicken dinners, with a focus on enhancing the guest experience and modernizing operations.
Nick Shelton is the new president of Zehnder’s of Frankenmuth, effective Jan. 1, after more than a decade as director of golf operations at Zehnder’s The Fortress Golf Course. Shelton, 36, has also held various roles with the company over the last two decades as Zehnder’s follows its practice of promotion from within.
He takes over for Bill Parlberg, who was named the first non-family president in Zehnder’s history in 2000 and has been with the company for some 50 years. Parlberg will remain on the company’s board of directors for a year in a consulting role to assist the leadership transition.
Shelton said taking the new role feels like a culmination of a lifetime of preparation. He cites his time working in Zehnder’s Marketplace — the company’s food store, bakery and gift shop — and acting as company mascot Drumstick at the famous Zehnder’s Restaurant as jobs that helped prep him for the position.
“It’s been a 20-plus-year journey,” Shelton said. “I’ve done a little bit of everything here.”
Shelton’s ascent comes as some other family members step back from their day-to-day roles, he said. His uncle, Al Zehnder, is chair of the board after serving as company CEO. Shelton’s parents, Martha and John, moved into owner/board member roles after serving as Zehnder’s CFO and vice president of marketing and sales, respectively. His aunt, Susan Zehnder, is now an owner/board member after years as the company’s vice president of human resources.
Now a new generation is stepping up.
Nick’s sister, Olivia Shelton, is the director of group sales. Their cousins — Al Zehnder’s children — are also involved in the family business. Christopher Zehnder is the company marketing manager while Lauren Zehnder is vice president of strategy and leadership development, a role to which she was recently promoted. Like Shelton, Christopher and Lauren also began working in the family business as teens.
“We really like to promote from within. That’s just part of our culture,” Al Zehnder said. “Nick understands that, in order to have a great company, you have to have great people. Hiring from within allows the people who are elevated to hit the ground running, which is a huge benefit to the company. Nick is emblematic of that.”
