FRANKENMUTH, MI - One of the most successful family-owned restaurants in Michigan, the Bavarian Inn, is known for its old-timey and delicious chicken dinners. They are also making homemade root beer, to the tune of over one hundred gallons a week.
“We here at the Bavarian Inn have always prided ourselves on using more Michigan agricultural products than any other restaurant in the world,” said Bill Zehnder, Bavarian Inn’s president. The house-made root beer is just another way to “showcase these local Michigan products.”
The Bavarian Inn’s homemade root beer is our pick for Sweet Treat of the Week, a series highlighting people and products from around Michigan who are using Pioneer Sugar in their creations.
Check out our interview below with Zehnder and his main root beer maker, Phoebe Beyerlein. We discuss how to make this special beverage, and the restaurant’s commitment to buying local.
About 100 gallons of fresh root beer are made every week at the Bavarian Inn.Courtesy Photo, used with permission.
Like many restaurants across Michigan, the Bavarian Inn is operating at 50% capacity. “It’s difficult times in the restaurant industry,” Zehnder said. “We’ve been here a long time, and there are other ups and downs in the restaurant industry. We’ll get through this.”
One chicken dinner at a time, or possibly, one root beer.
The Bavarian Inn is still run by the Zehnder family. Bought by William “Tiny” Zehnder in 1950, he and his wife, Dorothy, decided to expand and embrace the Bavarian theme in 1958.
The restaurant is now one of the largest family-owned restaurants in the country.
They still serve their famous chicken dinners here. Get ready for a feast, starting with homemade bread, salads, noodle soup, and then family-style platters of mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, and of course chicken. The chicken at Bavarian features a crispy, crackery coating. All meals come complete with a little dish of ice cream or sherbet at the end.
While chicken dinners reign supreme at Bavarian Inn, with close to a million being sold every year, there are a few other items that are a must-try when you visit. We named the Bavarian as one of our favorite bakeries in Michigan, awarding them and next-door neighbors and familial cousins Zehnder’s, the Dessert Capital of Michigan prize. There are breakfast treats galore here, pastries, and a pretzel not to miss. Now, another not-to-miss item is the root beer.
For now, the root beer is only available on tap at the restaurant and at their food truck, known as the Cluck Truck, but look for it getting packaged in the future.
Root beer brewer Phoebe Beyerein walked us through her process of making the root beer. She starts with purified water, and then dissolves Pioneer sugar and local honey in it, using a large industrial steamer to do this. She then adds their root beer base and vanilla, kegs it up, and lets it rest in the fridge to allow the flavors to develop. It then gets slightly carbonated, and it’s ready to serve, whether straight up, or in a root beer float.
Beyerein is pretty proud to be brewing up the root beer. She is also a server/bartender at the restaurant, and loves telling guests that she made it. “I’m really excited that everybody enjoys it,” she said.
“It’s homemade, and it’s from Frankenmuth,” Beyerein said when asked what sets her root beer apart. “Everybody loves Frankenmuth.”
Fresh root beer is made every week by Bavarian Inn employeeCourtesy Photo, used with permission.
Bavarian Inn Restaurant and Lodge
713 S Main St.
Frankenmuth, MI 48734
(800) 228-2742
Want to spend a day in fabulous Frankenmuth, and pay a visit to the Bavarian Inn? We’ve got you covered with our Michigan’s Best Day.
You can learn some baking tips from Bavarian Inn legend herself, Dorothy Zehnder, right here.
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Sweet Treat of the Week: Root Beer from Bavarian Inn - MLive.com
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