After nearly 25 years of restaurant success at the Zehnder’s restaurant, the Zehnder family set their sights on expansion. In 1950, they purchased the restaurant across the street – the Fischer House.

During its first decade, the Zehnders struggled to make Fischer House profitable. Flouting conventional wisdom, the family, led by William Zehnder, Jr., decided to renovate and expand Fischer House, with architectural and culinary inspiration from the town’s German heritage. The result? The Bavarian Inn. This launched Frankenmuth’s German look and feel, establishing the town as one of Michigan’s most popular tourist attractions.

The Bavarian Inn grew to become one of the top five independent restaurants in the nation, with seven theme dining rooms seating up to 1,200 guests.

Today, separate branches of the original Zehnder family own each of the restaurants. The William Zehnder, Jr. family owns the Bavarian Inn, and the Edwin Zehnder family owns Zehnder’s.

According to family members, Dorothy Zehnder – widow of William Zehnder, Jr. – still works six days a week at the Bavarian Inn. Many younger members of the family carry on the Zehnder restaurant tradition, starting in high school and continuing after college. After college, family members who wish to begin a career at the Bavarian Inn must first prove themselves elsewhere.

References:

Bavarian Inn. (2006). [online resource].

Personal interview. (2006. November 9, 2006). Grossi, A. Z. (Bavarian Inn), McInerney, S. (Frankenmuth News), Varley, M. (Frankenmuth Convention & Visitors Bureau), Webb, J. (Frankenmuth Museum); Zehnder, J. (Zehnder's),

Kilar, J. (2002). Frankenmuth business: A pictorial history of Frankenmuth business. G. Bradley Publishing, St. Louis.

Zehnder, D. (1986). Cookies and bars. The Tuscola County Advertiser: Caro.

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