Things You “Dough-nut” Know About the Old Slinger Bakery

There’s nothing like biting into a freshly glazed doughnut on a Saturday morning or slathering a slice of scratch-made bread in butter. Bonus points for the taste buds if the treats come from a local business. Washington County has its own current collection of bakeries, from custom-decorated cookie businesses to nostalgic-feeling pastry shops, but every local industry must start somewhere! Try to keep your mouth from watering as you read about one of Slinger’s major early bakeries. 

Located at 128 Kettle Moraine Drive, in what is now Freideman Chiropractic, Frank Kechelmeier Sr. began a bakery in 1900. He was a first-generation immigrant and ran the bakery with the help of his wife and sons. The bakery assumed the name “Palace Bakery” in 1920. It became Slinger Bakery in 1940 when Frank Jr. took it over with his wife.