Trenary has the toast with the most
TRENARY, MI — Trenary Michigan is home to the Upper Peninsula’s most successful small business. This honor was given by Michigan’s Small Business Development Center.
But it is well known by the surrounding communities as a staple to the baking business in the U.P.
“This company has been here for 90 years. It started in 1928; the bakery was built to do what it is doing. So really the secret to the business is… as strange as it sounds we are doing the same thing we did 90 years ago,” said, Owner and President of Trenary Home Bakery, Andy Reichert.
Not only has the business been around for almost 100 years, but it hasn’t changed any of the recipes and has only added a few newer products to the list such as cinnamon bread and possibly pie will be added in the future. But the secret for success isn’t always about new recipes.
“You know I think that’s the secret, it’s a product that people know and that they are comfortable with. They have good memories of having it at school, break, or with grandparents or it’s just a fun product to eat. I like to eat it, you know I think its fun to eat and try in different ways,” explained Reichert.
Not only is it fun to try in different ways but it’s even better to experiment with the original product to make new delicious additions to the business.
“You know we do experiment a little bit. Well this year we took our white dough that we make Trenary Toast out of and we made Pigs in Blankets out of that. Then we took our rye dough that we make rye bread out of and we wrapped that around bratwursts and we called those Hogs in Quilts. So that was some of our experimenting, and they were great actually, both really great products,” added Reichert.
Trenary Home Bakery doesn’t only create a very tasty product but they also get to know the customer’s who come to try their baked goods.
“The fun thing here in Trenary is that we stay connected with the outside world so to speak. This is because we do get visitors from Downstate Michigan. Even from Wisconsin and further south than that every day,” explained Reichert.
Trenary Home Bakery is always baking its famous Trenary Toast and continues to experiment with new ways to create new products for the future of the business.