Back Roads

• Amery’s 35 year old supper club

• Osceola’s Rustic Road

• Small town’s 150th anniversary

• New home for local bakery

Back Roads

Volume 6 No. 1

Sentinel Publications

Editors

Matt Anderson

Greg Marsten

Justin Runberg

Jason Schulte

Advertising

Tony Aizpurua

Laura Alvarez

Beth Gorne

Darcy Kolander

Production

Eric Buelow

Nicole Gagner

Becki LaMar

Publisher Tom Stangl

Food & Drink: Shoreview Supper

Locals: Tom Hagerty’s Velomobile

Travel: Rustic Road, Osceola .........................12

Destination: Baldwin, WI .................................16

Brick & Mortar: Nuthouse Breads

Why Back Roads?

From ambitious local farms and charming main street stores to rustic breweries and homegrown artists, we thought the towns and villages near the “Minnesconsin” border deserved a little more attention.

So, four newspaper ofﬁces worked together to bring you Back Roads, a publication we hope speaks to this rural border community in all its complexity. Our vision? To proﬁle artists, breweries, shop owners and farms from Baldwin to Grantsburg, Marine on St. Croix to Amery and everywhere in between.

This magazine is made for you and all those connected to this often-overlooked but remarkable place. We hope you like it.

Photo by Eric Buelow

Front page photo: Tom Hagerty and his Velomobile

Amery, Wisconsin

Shoreview legends in the making

By Justin Runberg

Photos by Justin Runberg

Nestled on the shores of Pike Lake lies a hidden gem sitting quietly, awaiting visitors to enjoy what the location has to offer. Shoreview Supper Club has been a staple to the Amery community spanning 35 years. In those years they have provided great food, drinks, and company to all who come to enjoy the space near the water. Being close to the water isn’t

anything new to owner Tony Wolter. Joining the Navy when he was a young man of 18, set him on a course of his love of water and lakes. After graduating from the academy, Wolter began his military career, taking him up and down the east coast and even to the mystical Bermuda Triangle to help with their research. Once his time in the service was over, Wolter would soon make his way back to the St. Paul area. After graduating college, Wolter warned his wife that they were about to be “in debt.” This is because he would buy his parents’ old home on Snail Lake in

Shoreview, Min.

“That’s the reason I call it Wolter Shoreview, is because of Shoreview, Minn. That’s where I had the ﬁrst house, when we came out of college, and again, that’s lakeshore. I had lakeshore on the Apple River, Lake Shore here. I got a place on Balsam Lake. My son lives up there, right on the lake, Little Balsam. Shoreview in the cities. And then Shoreview again, now up in the Two Harbors,” said Wolter. The inﬂuence Wolter had from the water his whole life came to pass some years down the road. After thinking about where he was work-

A couple had their date night at Shoreview, having fun, and making memories.

ing in the Twin Cities, Wolter started thinking and looking for more quietness near a lake. In the late ‘80s, that dream became a reality as he packed up his bags and moved north east of the cities to a town called Amery.

The property was ﬁrst owned by a gentleman by the name of Colonel, who had managed the property bringing people to stay when making their trips to the Twin Cities or Chicago. Besides the house where people would stay, he also had an additional four boathouses on the lake.

Unfortunately, the house would

end up burning down and being rebuilt in the late ‘60s. Some years after, the property was sold to Keith Olson who would go into business with two others to manage it. In 1989, Wolter got his shot at owning a business close to the water.

“We took it over in 1989 and made some remodeling and put some more docks out there. And it’s been doing great ever since,” said Wolter.

Now, after decades of ownership, Wolter says the location is second to none and is what makes Shoreview Supper Club one of the most unique locations and separates it

from the rest. Not only do they have docks to be able to hitch your boat up to and enjoy dinner, but the main draw is the panoramic view. As you sit inside and glance out the windows, there is a view of the lake from every angle, besides the front of the building. Not only does Pike Lake offer a pretty sight, but it is also extremely clean because it is spring fed.

Wolter always had his eyes on a supper club style venue where folks come in towards the end of their day to eat and enjoy the different drinks Shoreview has to offer. The See Shoreview, page 6

A group of regulars share laughs and conversation as they wind down after a long day.

Shoreview

From page 6

view is what draws folks in but it’s the food that makes them stay. The menu offers what you might expect for a supper club, featuring steaks and burgers. Something that most places do not offer is their seafood selection. Not only do they serve the staple of Walleye, they also serve scallops and some of the

biggest shrimp that may come across your plate. When you begin to eat you may also ﬁnd yourself having a bit of a thirst and Shoreview has just the thing to alleviate that.

Hailing from a mixology book made back in 1935, Wolter and company look back at the old pages to develop some of the best tasting drinks to wash down their food. The ones that stand out the most are their Moscow Mules, Old Fashions, and the ev-

er-popular Pink Squirrel.

Throughout the years of Wolter’s business, the one thing that always seemed to be his favorite part of the job, are the people.

“Just the people that, from the campground that come back every year and everything else. Because that’s seasonal. That’s kind of seasonal over there. So, but just the people alone are just, I can’t think of anything speciﬁc except everything is nice up here compared to the cities. Let’s hope this stays that way,” said Wolter.

If you are looking for a great place, company, and food, Wolter’s Shoreview Supper Club is the place for you. They are closed Mondays and Tuesdays, and open the rest of the week 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m..”

It’s not a spaceship, it’s a

Velomobile

Franconia ‘Velonaut’ ﬁnds joy in a unique method

By Matt Anderson

of transportation

Photos by Matt Anderson and contributed

f you live within the St. Croix Valley area, you may have seen a strange green and white vehicle whizzing by from time to time in the last year. It somewhat resembles the cross of a bike, a car, and maybe even a spaceship. But the proper term for it is a Velomobile, and you’ve most likely seen local Tom Hagerty piloting it.

IHagerty has been a “Velonaut” ambassador for roughly a year now after buying his ﬁrst Velomobile. After learning the ins and outs of riding one of these unique vehicles, he’s encouraging others to try out a Velomobile for themselves as a unique method of getting around.

Hagerty is a Franconia, Minn., resident and a massage therapist by trade. He has been interested in cycling since he was young. With a fascination for pedal powered vehicles, it’s no surprise he took up an interest in a Velomobile

from the moment he saw one.

“I grew up on a farm the oldest of six kids and biking was my ticket off the farm for a while,” said Hagerty. “We were 13 miles from our school, and I’d bike to school every once in a while. I think I was age 12 when I started touring and doing 50-mile rides and things like that. It’s my lifestyle to be on a bike.

As he got older, Hagerty would compete in a number of races and marathons covering hundreds of miles through places like the coast of Maine, down to Boston and Nantucket. He would bike thousands of miles over the years as a means of transportation and competition. But when the Covid 19 pandemic reared its ugly head, competitions were put on hold and Hagerty was left with more time on his hands than anticipated.

“I was racing at the Velodrome bike track ever since 1999,” Hagerty said “I put in 20 years there. And when they pushed that over in 2020, I didn’t realize how big a part of my life that was. It just left a hole. So around that time we were deep into the pandemic and everything, and I was online a lot. I saw this guy riding his Velomobile through Southdale of all places.

“That was quite an eye-opener. Once I saw you could build something like that, then I started doing the online searches. It’s quite a community of ‘human powered vehi-

“Every time I get in it and take it around for a ride somebody will ask me, ‘What the heck is that?’”

Tom Hagerty

cles’ they call them. And some of them get really into the racing aspect. They do a timed run out in Arizona every fall kind of like the Bonneville salt ﬂat thing for the cars.”

For Hagerty, the likelihood of racing velomobiles in the St. Croix Valley area wasn’t all too probable. But a pedal powered vehicle similar to the bikes he’s always loved that could get him around and allow him to tow his kayak, or run some errands piqued his interest.

“I started looking at videos of that and stuff and thinking, ‘Well, I don’t know if I’m that crazy,’ because those guys get up to like 80, 90 miles an hour,” Hagerty said. “So, I started looking more practical. And that’s when I found this company that was marketing exactly what I was thinking about: a three wheeled vehicle that you could haul groceries with.”

It wouldn’t be long before Hagerty picked up his very own Velomobile that he would use on a near day-to-day basis. But it would take a little bit of time to get used to. Once he got the hang of it, however, he was driving his Velomobile like a pro in the St. Croix Valley area.

“I was really happy that where I lived, I could ﬁnd some back roads to drive this thing on just to get used to it,” Hagerty said. “I ride it just like a bike. I’ll stay on the shoulder as long as I’m doing like 15 or 20 miles an hour but quite often on a little rolling descent, I’ll hit 30, 35 miles per

hour without even thinking about it. At that point I move out and take part of the lane because I want people to look ahead if they’re going to pass me and not get us into trouble.

“The most fun thing was the ﬁrst time I decided to come into Osceola,” he said. “When I ﬁnally got the courage to take the hill into Osceola, I think I hit 60 miles an hour right off the bat.”

In just about one year, Hagerty has put more than 7,000 miles on his Velomobile, using it as his primary method of local transportation. He’s ﬁgured out how to ride properly, choose the best routes, and has even become a Velomobile ambassador, teaching others about what Velomobiles are and what makes them such a unique and efﬁcient method of transportation.

“Every time I get in it and take it around for a ride somebody will ask me, ‘What the heck is that?’” said Hagerty. “First off, I have to tell them there’s no motor in it.

And even though you could put a motor in it, mine is all pedal power. I tell them it’s basically a recumbent with a carbon shell. It’s like a more comfortable version of aroad bike. With aerodynamics thrown in for extra speed.

See Hagerty, page 10

“Well, I

hour,”

Hagerty

From page 9

Tom Hagerty

“They’ve been in use for probably four to five decades now. What they’ve been working on is trying to come up with the lightest stiffest body that they can. Normally on a recumbent, you have a little bit of flex in the frame. That robs your power when you’re trying to transfer the pedal strokes into the tires. So, what they figured out is how to orient the carbon and make the body as stiff as possible without making it too heavy.”

Hagerty’s Velomobile is a 55-pound vehicle that he can easily stow away in his van and ride easily throughout the

Tom Hagerty regularly meets with other “Velonauts” who enjoy riding with him. While Hagerty uses it for travel, many race Velomobiles competitively, even reaching speeds of 80 to 90 miles per hour.

St. Croix Valley. The carbon shell is so aerodynamic that hitting speeds of a typical motored vehicle are not all that hard to accomplish, but without the gas and exhaust.

As a Velomobile ambassador, Hagerty has replaced all his vehicle mileage within a 30-mile radius with his Velomobile whenever possible, and has a Quick Response (QR) code on the side of his vehicle for anyone who sees him piloting his Velomobile in the St. Croix Valley to scan and learn more. For him, it’s the perfect solution to transportation that provides him the joy he’s always felt for pedal-powered vehicles and gives him a unique and efﬁcient method to get around for years to come.

“I’m 58 and I was always looking for the perfect touring

Hagerty’s Velombile is a low proﬁle, aerodynamic vehicle that gives him extra pedal power compared to a regular bike. He often tows his kayak behind him, or hauls groceries home from the store in his Velombile.

“It’s my lifestyle to be on a bike.”

Tom Hagerty

machine for use in my later years,” Hagerty said. “I had never ridden a recumbent before, so I didn’t really have this on my radar, but I’m really glad I stumbled into it because I think it’s going to allow me to pedal much later in life than I would’ve on an upright bike.”

Hagerty is happy to talk with others who see him around town and ﬁnd an interest in the Velomobile to have a chat with him, scan the QR code and learn more. He also plans to be at this year’s Wheels and Wings in Osceola, Wis. with his Velomobile to show to others at the show.

There are over 120 Rustic Roads in Wisconsin, going back to the state program start in 1975.

County Road S, or Rustic Road 101, skates past Dresser

The Consumm Back Road

The Rid severa along R

between St. Croix Falls and Osceola.

e Ridge View Trail Loop is one of veral hiking trails with the terminus ng Rustic Road 101.

4.7 miles of slow rolling, historic cool

By Greg Marsten

Photos by Greg Marsten

It is a rock-lined, roller coaster ride of twisting macadam - a road with a pedigree that goes back to long before Wisconsin was a state, even before the USofA was a thing, cutting through the landscape and basalt as though chiseled by a giant.

to often as a portion of “The River Road,” and going back further, it likely was part of a many centuries long trail, created by Native Americans, traders, trappers, loggers and explorers, slicing across the western banks of the St. Croix River, and now lined most of the length on the West by miles of state and federally owned forest and park lands.

It is a true “backroad,” a detour that isn’t necessary, but is a brief, unique, historic, and noteworthy sidetrack.

mate

It was supposedly named after its curves - County Road S - yet it goes by several monikers now, including Rustic Road 101.

Wisconsin’s Rustic Road program is managed by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation and goes back to 1975. “Wisconsin has quiet, rural roads all over that take visitors and travelers alike to some of the most beautiful scenes our state has to offer,” said Gov. Evers.

The state now boasts 126 designated Rustic Roads, spanning over 750 miles in 61 counties, but Rustic Road 101 - County ‘S’ - is surely among the coolest.

It is a slow ride, perfect for a bicycle, motorcycle, walking, and especially convertibles with lumpy engine noises that bounce off the rocks that line your lane – mere inches from your car.

Depending on where you ofﬁcially measure it, County ‘S’ is between 4.3-4.7-miles, in total, with a few cool detours mentioned later that might add a couple miles for one of the best western sunset views along the St. Croix Valley.

Regardless, the road forms a sort of “loop” off State Highway 35 between St. Croix Falls and Osceola, chasing the St. Croix River, at times, with pavement that slides between trap rock outcroppings and ‘erratics’ – rocks deposited by the retreating glaciers, thousands of years ago.

“A road trip on Wisconsin’s Rustic Roads and Scenic Byways is a great way to turn down the noise and tune in with loved ones,” said Wisconsin Department of Tourism Secretary Anne Sayers.

Rustic Road 101 is also referred

Rustic Road 101, County S, The River Road - or whatever the name - is undoubtedly among the most beautiful ribbons of asphalt in the Midwest. Sporting those infamous rock outcroppings so “in your face” and close to the roadway, they were the subject of lawsuits, dynamite and court injunctions a few years back, where an overzealous Highway Commissioner deemed some rocks a hazard for his plows and dump trucks. Under that decree, the Highway Department began using equipment and explosives to clear the right-of-way, only to have a Circuit Court judge intervene with an injunction, stopping it literally in the middle of the destructive action.

The local residents who fought the effort prevailed in keeping the historic rocks and roadside outcroppings, as well as the decidedly curvy nature of the roadway.

County S has long been the historic route for centuries among Native Americans, traders, trappers, and now tourists. It is a slow, winding and decidedly challenging road, not good for buses, motorhomes, long campers, or county dump trucks with snowplows (ahem), but it is a treat for people who like to enjoy the ride and aren’t in a hurry.

In State Tourism documents, they note that Rustic Road 101 is indeed special: “R-101 features oak, cedar and pine trees, a trout stream, rock outcroppings and a variety of wildlife as it parallels the St. Croix River. Trailheads are adjacent to

See Rustic Road 101, page 14

Rustic Road 101

From page 13 curves along the way.

1.2 Miles – There is a small area to pull-off – again in a FEE AREA for parking – with a wetland and more cattails than a humane society on your left.

1.7 Miles – There is a small area to park and explore – again, in a FEE AREA – that has the remnants of an unusual pair of rock driveway markers and vintage steel gateway, possibly for a former park access? It is closed to trafﬁc but there is plenty of hiking available.

1.8 Miles – The road narrows here, and this is the parking area (yes, FEE AREA) for the semi-famous Silverbrook Trail, which is also part of the Interstate Park grounds to the river’s shore. The Silverbrook Trail is famous of recent times due to recent features celebrating the long gone, 1895, 19-room Silverbrook Mansion, destroyed by ﬁre in 1974. A few features remain, including the stone driveway pillars/columns,

a few outbuilding foundations and a former wading pond, with even more unique Interstate Park features nearby, high above the might St. Croix River.

The trailhead for the Silverbrook Trail leads to the remnants of a historic mansion, used by Black Americans for decades as an urban retreat. Portions of the oncespectacular grounds are still visible, further down the trial.

The mansion was noted at one time for being one of the few vacation destinations for Black Americans, primarily form the Twin Cities. There is reportedly a documentary in production about the facility and its unique history, with Interstate Park plans to better document the site history and trails nearby.

Scenic Detour: Very near the Silverbrook Trail entrance is 113th Ave. on the left (east). If you’re so inclined, the long, steepish roadway offers one of the very best sunset views in Polk County from above. The top of hillside, near Skyline Drive, is high enough to see municipal features visible deep into Minnesota.

Just be respectful of the lucky residents who live near this fantastic view of the St. Croix River Valley. (Hint – Even better in the cold seasons, with the leaves down.)

2.3 Miles – Back to Rustic Road 101 (if you took the 113th Ave. detour). At 2.3 miles there is a curious rock outcropping and a plateau area to the east, which is technically an easement for a gas pipeline - smoke at your own risk.

For a great detour hike in the off-season, the property looks quite interesting.

2.35 Miles – The road begins to really snake here, and for the ﬁrst time in a while has private property on both sides. Be wary of that and where you venture or park.

“A road trip on Wisconsin’s Rustic Roads and Scenic Byways is a great way to turn down the noise and tune in with loved ones.”

Anne Sayers, Wisconsin Department of Tourism Secretary

3.0 Miles (approx.) – On the west is one entrance to the Ridge View Trail – Chisago Loop, and also the Osceola Loop to the south. The trail is a 3-mile-long, double loop hiking path that skates the riverway, the woods and prairie.

In general, the Chisago Loop traverses basalt rock outcroppings, while the Osceola Loop is more level, with hikes through towering pines and woods. The trails also offer fantastic views of St. Croix Riverway backwaters from the bluff side of the trail.

There are two entrances to this trail system, one to the north – The Chisago Loop - and to the south is The Osceola Loop. Both trails are worth a trek, any season of the year.

3.2 Miles – On the west side is an old yellow structure, beside what was the former Riverside School, operating form 1860-1941. It drew students from around the area, when there were very few schools anywhere near here. The property to the south and west are federal lands again, as part of the National Park Service Scenic Riverway.

This historic marker for the former Riverside School – built in 1860 – is one of the reminders of how long the old road/trail has been in use.

3.4 Miles – The National Park Service maintenance facility is on the west side of the road, with several buildings for plows, dump trucks, pickups, graders or other equipment. This part is not open to the public.

3.7 Miles – Some of the better rock outcroppings are found in this area.

3.9 Miles – Ridgeview Trail South –parking lot. This is where the Osceola Loop parking starts. The property also contains the Osceola State Fish Hatchery and is part of the previously mentioned 3-mile loop.

4.3 Miles – There is a very serene area of wetlands on the east (left side) of the road, as the Rustic Road 101 tour comes to an end.

4.4 Miles – 93rd Ave. is on the left (east side) of the road.

4.6/4.7 Miles – State Highway 35, the south entrance to Rustic Road 101. Take a right and you’re just outside Osceola. Go left and you’ll drive through Dresser and eventually past the north entrance to Rustic Road 101.

County S/Rustic Road 101/The River Road – whatever its name, it is among the most pleasant drives in the region, great for hiking, biking and going slow.

Sure, there’s an occasional speedster who might also push the road past its generally putzy speed limits, some as low as 25-mph – including a certain Mini Cooper that passed me at twice the limit - but all in all, County S is a dish best served slow and sunny. It is the Ultimate Back Road.

2 Happy Birthday, Baldwin

By Jason Schulte

Photos by Jason Schulte and contributed

024 will be a noteworthy year in the Village of Baldwin. The Village celebrated its 150th birthday since it was incorporated during the annual Windmill Days celebration, which was June 5-9.

Among the activities which took place was the unveiling of a time capsule which was buried 50 years ago. While most of the items were waterlogged (a yearbook, Baldwin Bulletins, a Sears and Montgomery Ward catalogs for example), Village and Windmill Days ofﬁcials are planning

for a burial of their own later this year.

The village of Baldwin was actually ﬁrst established in 1871, as it was called Clarksville, for its ﬁrst four months in honor of Frank B. Clark, a railroad agent.

One of the key people in the history of Baldwin was Dana Reed Bailey, its founder. As the train made its way through, Bailey owned the sawmill at the south end of town and built a new sawmill, ﬂour mill and elevator by the tracks.

In January 1872, the name was later changed to Baldwin in honor of Daniel A. Baldwin. Baldwin lived in Hudson during the summer months and in New York during the winter months, as he never resided in Baldwin. However, as president of the West Wisconsin Railroad, he brought it

“No other village in the state of like size and population, can boast of better and cleaner streets or more miles of good sidewalks than Baldwin.”

through this area.

The village was ofﬁcially incorporated in 1874 as it grew to over 500 citizens.

From the Illustrated Souvenir History of Baldwin

“One of the requests of the original Village Board was that citizens do everything in their power to keep the village respectable, clean and as harmonious as possible,” according to information from the Baldwin Historical Society. “Lucrative imports, exports and personal travel were all possible because of the railroad.”

The Historical Society also noted, a comment was made by one of those citizens, Baldwin would become another Minneapolis at the rate it was growing.

According to the Illustrated Souvenir History of Baldwin, which was published in 1901 by The Baldwin Bulletin, Baldwin may ‘truthfully be called the hub of St. Croix County.’

“Baldwin has never been cursed with a ‘boom’, but from the time its ﬁrst building was erected up to the present day, its growth has been of a steady and enduring nature,” the story states. “The Back Roads

See Baldwin, page 18

From page 17

well-kept streets, its handsome business blocks and residences, all bespeak the enterprise and public spirit that animates the citizens of Baldwin…. It is unsurpassed for health and salubrity of climate.

“No other village in the state of like size and popula-

tion, can boast of better and cleaner streets or more miles of good sidewalks than Baldwin. Baldwin has all those natural advantages that go to make up a ﬁrstclass city and her citizens as a rule, are all energetic, enterprising hustlers, who with a determination to succeed work in unity for the good of the public as well as that of themselves.

“Baldwin is fortunate in having but few ‘croakers’ and selﬁsh men within her limits. Her citizens are generous and liberal and believe in a bright future for the town. They are here to stay and lend their inﬂuence towards keeping Baldwin in the front rank of western Wisconsin towns and these features together with its location in one of the richest agricultural sections of the state have made Baldwin what she is today and are those which will cause her to make great advancement in the years to come.”

The story also boasts about the variety of businesses which called Baldwin home in those early years.

A planning mill, lumber yard, creamery, ﬂour and feed mill, eight general stores, two weekly newspapers, two real estate agents, two jewelers, one meat market, one bakery, one photography gallery, one dentist, two paint shops, two confectionary stores, two ﬂour and

Baldwin

feed stores and one doctor were among the business listed.

Baldwin was known as the “The Biggest Little Town in Wisconsin,” but many would also describe it as “Baldwin, The Friendliest Little Town in Wisconsin.”

The Windmill

A 1974 Centennial plate that was made during the Village’s 100th birthday 50 years ago.

One of the enduring images of Baldwin is the Dutch windmill which is proﬁled in several homes along with a larger size version on display in Windmill Park, in the center of the village. Constructed in 1987, the windmill measures 33 feet from the top of the cap, while it is 47 feet to top of the sail. The blades of the windmill can be seen rotating during the summer months.

It is classiﬁed as a smock mill, meaning it is different from North Holland’s smock mills in that the cap on the top of the mill can be turned to face the wind (or winded) on the outside by means of a tail pole, rather than crawling to the top of the mill in the inside and turning

You Are Welcome Here!

2355 Clark Road - Dressera member of the ELCA a Pastor Melissa Carmack • Pastor Maggie Isaacson

Worship Service Sunday at 9:00 a.m.

Worship Service at 9:00 a.m. Communion every Sunday Communion every Sunday School at 10:00 a m School at 10:00 a.m. September - MayVacation Bible School School August 5 - 8 (pre-k thru 5th grade) 5 - 8 thru 5th 8:30 a m - 12:00 p m breakfast & lunch provided 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. breakfast & lunch provided

the cap.

Besides the windmill, the park has a small stream, known as Baldwin Creek, running along the northern edge.

Older cities than Baldwin

While 150 years old is something to be proud of, it’s far from being the oldest city in Wisconsin.

According to wisconsinhistory.org, Green Bay is the oldest city in Wisconsin, ﬁrst being incorporated in 1765. Other dates of note for cities include Platteville 1825; Portage 1828, DePere 1829, Racine 1834, Waukesha 1834, Kenosha, Appleton and Milwaukee 1835, Janesville, Oshkosh and Sheboygan 1836.

The right agent can lead the

Baldwin Main Street, 1948.

Nuthouse Breads

Where smells rule … and the customers drool

By Greg Marsten

Photos Greg Marsten and Emily McCarthy

Few things are agreed upon more than an appreciation of the wafting aroma of fresh baked bread.

Now add some scones, mufﬁns, cupcakes, and various other varieties of oven-baked treats to that olfactory smorgasbord and you’ve got the region’s latest tasty treat home on the main drag in Siren, called ‘Nuthouse Breads.’

It’s a brand name that may sound familiar to local shoppers, who have

bought their amazing, rich loaves of sweet or savory breads over the years, but they have a new location, and have moved from being a purely wholesale-commercial bakery to a brick-and-mortar stop for all things baked and tasty.

That new location is anything but boring, with a history going back over 120 years, when it began as a chicken hatchery, but in recent times the building at 24054 State Road 35/70 has been the home to the Siren Senior Center, and most recently was the location for the Siren School District’s satellite Alternative Learning Center.

“It’s got good bones,” Owner and chief baker Peter Koelz said proudly, over the soft din of jazz in the background, noting the fabled local connection to history that his 2,800-square-foot storefront claims. “It was built in 1900!”

Koelz is excited about his new location, but he is also excited about mak-

ing a risky business move by changing the focus of ‘Nuthouse Breads’ away from being commercial wholesale - delivering hundreds of loaves of bread each week from his production location up north - into a whole new retail animal: A retail shop on a state highway, with a variety of baked goodies, far beyond just breads. While Koelz and ‘Nuthouse’ has been offering varieties of bread for years, this is similar but different.

“I’m getting into the groove of making pastries!” He said with a grin between ﬁlling orders from the kitchen - which he designed and built and is still in the process of expanding. Koelz said he will likely add even more tasty offerings as he expands and installs even more machinery, including a dough proofer, so he can make croissants and other baked pufferies.

“There are many things we can expand into, but we will see what the people want and what makes sense,”

Koelz said. “Our most popular breads are cranberry wild rice, cranberry walnut and jalapeno. The pasties are very popular, scones, donuts, hand fruit pies and an amazing brown butter cake.”

‘Nuthouse’s’ new “menu” is broad, and while Koelz describes it as “bread, pastries and retail” the sweet and savory concoctions, bread recipes and pasties go deep, with ﬂavors yet revealed.

If you have a special request of a favorite item you want to be sure he has, ‘Nuthouse Breads’ is happy to oblige.

“We are happy to do special orders, and encourage people to call ahead to make sure we make what they need,” Koelz conﬁrmed. “Pasties the night before and bread needs a three day lead time.”

He said he’s learned some lessons

See Nuthouse Breads, page 22

“Our most popular breads are Cranberry wild rice, cranberry walnut and jalapeno.”

Peter Koelz

Only seven ingredients make-up their Sweet Rye Sourdough.

Nuthouse Breads owner Peter Koelz and do-it-all assistant Emily McCarthy pose beside their new logo banner in the lobby.

N Nuth t ouuse Breeadads ow o ner Pe Pete t r Ko K ellz

Nuthouse Breads owner/baker/ idea man Peter Koelz works nonstop creating sweet and savory goodies for sale.

From page 21 in the past, which he applied to designing and building such a cool, specialized kitchen, including his essential multiple ovens, crafting a convenient-height pedestal knee wall feature into the south sidewall, perfect for his six identical electric ovens, which he said works “amazingly well.” And, since they all share the same identical parts, he can make them last for quite a while, and will know them like an engineer after so much use.

Koelz is not only a longtime baker, but he’s also an accomplished carpenter, having converted the former classrooms – the last iteration - into a welcoming front retail and lobby space, with chairs for waiting for an order, while also providing baked goods in bulk, bakery-related tools and cookware, loaves of fresh bread, frozen dough, novelties, and more.

The smells are free.

“Hours are currently Tuesday through Saturday, 9-3,” Koelz conﬁrmed. “But if the lights are on, try the door and I am happy to help.”

Koelz not only turned the space into a cool baked goods retail space, he also built in his own living quarters out back, so even in a heavy snowstorm, thunderstorm or other events, he will be there to ﬁre up those six ovens and open the front doors.

‘Nuthouse Breads’ is located at 24054 Hwy 35/70,

Siren. Perfectly situated on the east side of the road, right next to Sara’s One-Stop Computer Shop - great for northbound travelers, especially when killer hungry. At least roll the windows down and steal a sniff.