By Al Zehnder, CEO of Zehnder’s of Frankenmuth I was walking through our lower level retail area, Zehnder’s Marketplace, and it just amazes me how from humble beginnings, our retail business has grown. One woman deserves much of the credit. The expansion of our...
By Al Zehnder, CEO of Zehnder’s of Frankenmuth There is no doubt that the Family Style Chicken Dinners served by Zehnder’s today, were served first, right across the street, by the Fischer family at Fischer’s Hotel now the Bavarian Inn. But why chicken dinners?...
By Gary Wollenhaupt, FirstMerit Bank One of Al Zehnder’s earliest memories is standing on a milk crate peeling cucumbers in the kitchen of his family’s restaurant. He was 7 or 8 years old at the time, pitching in with his sisters, Martha and Susan, at the family...
Zehnder’s Restaurant, located in the Bavarian town of Frankenmuth, opened its doors for business on Mother’s Day, 1929, when Zehnder’s chefs served up a total of 312 chicken dinners. Since then, hundreds of thousands of guests have enjoyed the Mother’s Day tradition...
Celebrating Mother’s Day here in the United States was first suggested by Julia Ward Howe in 1872; however, it is Anna Jarvis who is recognized as the founder of Mother’s Day. In 1905, Anna following the wishes of her own mother’s desire that someday...
By Al Zehnder, CEO of Zehnder’s of Frankenmuth I imagine our founder, my grandfather, William Zehnder, Sr. had about had it with the restaurant business by 1947. Since their purchase of the New Exchange Hotel in 1928, he and my grandmother Emilie had guided it...
