Otto's Bakery celebrates 50 years of business as the New Year begins

Theodore Tollefson, Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.
Updated ·3 min read

Jan. 6—BYRON — Otto and Ann Marie Hemmah decided to make baking their livelihood 50 years ago and have not stopped baking since.

The Hemmah's, owners of Otto's Bakery and Coffee Shop, in Byron, have seen the bakery business change around them in the last 50 years, making this milestone all the more special to them.

"The first 30 to 35 years of business were really good. Since then inflation and prices for baking ingredients have gotten out of hand and not everyone in the business has been able to keep up," said Otto Hemmah. "We've been very fortunate and I'm going to keep being a baker until I can't anymore."

"We did have an open house celebration on Dec. 10 as the 50th anniversary landed last month," said Ann Marie Hemmah. "We are just very grateful for the longevity of our business, we had flowers given to us from one local business that we're still keeping strong out front."

A couple of business partnerships that have helped keep Otto's afloat in changing times are with Wildwood Sports Bar & Grill, and Flapdoodles Ice Cream. All the dough used for pizzas at both of Wildwood's locations comes from Otto's. With Flapdoodles, Otto Hemmah makes the cake layers of the ice cream cakes for both Rochester locations.

"It's been nice to have these partnerships," said Otto Hemmah.

Every day Otto Hemmah is into his bakery by 2 a.m. making fresh bread, donuts and rolls. Ann Marie joins him a few hours later to open the bakery by 6 a.m. Otto usually ends his days by 2 p.m.

The routine rarely changes for Otto Hemmah with one thing he has enjoyed daily for the last 50 years: making the cinnamon and caramel rolls.

"That's the first thing I make every day, and once I am done with those I work on the rosettes," said Otto Hemmah. "They're not my favorite thing to make but everyone loves how they taste so I won't stop making them."

While the Hemmah's are celebrating 50 years of business only 42 of them have been in Byron and 37 in their current building. The first five years in Byron were in the strip mall next door, which currently houses Byron's American Legion Post and Compadres Mexican restaurant.

The Hemmah's originally began their bakery business around the Hayfield area off of Highway 30 baking bread and other treats for many of the schools in the region south of Hayfield all the way to the Iowa boarder.

The current building was originally a bank, and when the Hemmah's took over, they expanded the space to have a bigger kitchen for baking, installing an industrial-sized oven to meet their daily baking needs.

The Hemmah's don't expect much else to change with how their bakery currently runs now that they've reached 50 years. Aside from the products shipped to Flapdoodles and Wildwood, all their baked goods are sold in-house at their bakery.

Otto's Bakery is open from 6 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and until 12:30 p.m. on Saturdays.