How World Famous Chicken Got Started in Frankenmuth

But, while sitting down to a platter full of premium, golden, fried chicken, delighting in homemade dressing, or savoring the addictive cracker crumble atop your German buttered noodles, have you ever stopped to wonder: how did these two giants of German cuisine come to be? Get ready, because we’re sharing the history of how our family-owned-and-operated favorites – Bavarian Inn Restaurant and Zehnder’s of Frankenmuth – founded their food-loving legacies in Frankenmuth.

were plated and perfected inside the Fischer Hotel (what stands today as Bavarian Inn Restaurant). Zehnder’s of Frankenmuth’s (then, the New Exchange Hotel) strategy for success at that time was to serve the overflow of customers from the Fischer Hotel. The Exchange Hotel – brought to life in 1856, just eleven years after the 1845 founding of Frankenmuth itself – was purchased in 1928 by William and Emilie Zehnder with the proceeds from their 80-acre farm and a bit of borrowed money.

Within their first year of ownership, William and Emilie completed an extensive remodel, opening for business on Mother’s Day of 1929, when they served 312 guests for just $1 each!

with Zehnder’s of Frankenmuth, the Zehnder family had the chance to buy out their competition just across Main Street – then Fischer’s Hotel (originally opened in 1888 as the Union House Hotel, and now known today as the iconic Frankenmuth Bavarian Inn Restaurant). And, in 1950, they did just that – purchasing Fischer’s and naming their son William “Tiny” Zehnder, Jr. as its manager.

A hardworking farmer who, ironically, used to stop at Fischer’s Hotel each day for garbage to feed his hogs, Tiny left his life on the farm (alongside his loving wife, Dorothy – a former Fischer’s waitress) and the two went on to manage Fischer’s, making massive improvements including a kitchen modernization and major architectural upgrades.

Less than a decade later, in the midst of a nationwide recession,

the Zehnder family chose to expand Fischer’s rather than close it, incorporating authentic, Bavarian elements into the entire restaurant experience, from exterior Bavarian accents to new, German entrees and the addition of Bavarian costume-clad servers.

Following the grand re-opening of the former Fischer’s Hotel as the new Frankenmuth Bavarian Inn Restaurant in 1959, constant expansions and remodeling transformed the building into a true, Bavarian-themed wonderland, complete with 12 dining rooms capable of serving 1,200 guests at once and a landmark 50-foot Glockenspiel depicting the legend of the Pied Piper of Hameln.

While Tiny and Dorothy Zehnder may no longer be here on earth, both legends have left an inspiring imprint in the Bavarian Inn Restaurant kitchen, where they worked since the purchase of the restaurant in 1950, and in Frankenmuth as a whole. Many of the incredible flavors you’ll find on the Bavarian Inn Restaurant menu were developed by Dorothy herself, and she still proudly had a hand in making many of them, with three generations of the Zehnder family to oversee daily operations of the Bavarian Inn Restaurant, as well as the family owned-and-operated Frankenmuth Bavarian Inn Lodge and Frankenmuth River Place Shops.

Between 1995 & 1996, Zehnder’s of Frankenmuth’s Heritage Room was doubled in size, bringing the restaurant’s overall seating capacity to 1,500. And, while the building itself makes Zehnder’s “America’s Largest Family Restaurant”, the platters of premium, golden brown chicken, mouthwatering breads, and so-worth-the-trip sides are what make the Zehnder’s experience larger-than-life. And an experience, it is – encompassing dining, lodging, retail, and golf – making Zehnder’s a complete, four-season, service-oriented family destination, with a tradition of good taste started in 1856.

Today, at Zehnder’s, you can enjoy a world famous family style chicken dinner, let loose with your little ones inside the 50,000 sq. ft. waterpark wonderland known only as Zehnder’s Splash Village, escape for 18 on the lush greens of Zehnder’s championship golf course, The Fortress, buy some sweet and savory souvenirs from Zehnder’s Marketplace, and stay overnight in style inside the deluxe accommodations of Zehnder’s Splash Village.