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“Let our family serve your family,” is not just a slogan for Judy Zehnder Keller, President of the Bavarian Inn Lodge.  She believes in working with family businesses much like her own, and has employed many in the Phase VI expansion of the Frankenmuth landmark.

“Family is everything to us,” said Zehnder Keller. “My mother Dorothy, at nearly age 91, is still very active in the kitchen, my brother Bill and I along with our spouses oversee the restaurant and lodge. We both have two of our children in the business, making nine family members in senior management at this time. There are four in the fourth generation, four in the third generation and one in the second generation. It is a blessing and an honor to work with family.”

At this month’s “Raise the Roof” event, where a 6,000-pound roof was affixed atop the Lodge’s new waterslide tower, the owners and families of six such family-owned companies celebrated their long affiliation with the Bavarian Inn Lodge.

The Zehnder family, owners of Frankenmuth’s Bavarian Inn Restaurant and Lodge, and River Place Shops, has been in business in Frankenmuth for 84 years. Saginaw contractor R.C. Hendrick, which has built all six phases of the Lodge, began business in 1876.  William (Trace) Hendrick III is the fifth generation to join the business. Within the Hendrick organization, many other families are employed, such as project manager Tony Leuenberger along with his father Bruce and brother Brian.

Five additional multi-generational family businesses involved in the renovation:

• Remer Plumbing and Heating, founded in 1957 by Richard Katz, is currently in its third generation with son Mark and grandson;
• Wm. Bronner & Son Contractors was founded in 1883 by John Bronner and is now operated by Ronald and his son Matt;
• Nuechterlein Electric was founded in 1952 by Tom Erdman and is in its third generation with Nate and Andy at the helm;
• Fox Excavation was founded in 1982 by Eric Fox, who is now in business with son Carl;
• Baruzzini Pool was founded in 1951 by Don Baruzzini, who is joined by sons Tony, Ted and Dominic.

The $3-million expansion of the Lodge’s Family Fun Center, which includes installation of two water slides, is set to open November 15^th.  The expansion will add some 30 jobs to the Lodge, bringing employment to 300.

“This expansion brings together the experience of nearly 600 years of multi-generational family businesses,” said Zehnder Keller. “You might say we’ve all become one big Michigan family dedicated to serving your family.”

About Bavarian Inn Lodge

Judy Zehnder Keller designed, developed, and leads the Bavarian Inn Lodge’s seven-acre facility. The multi-faceted resort has 360-guestrooms and a conference center perfect for hosting conventions at the local, regional or national level. Millions of visitors travel to Frankenmuth annually. In 25 years of business, the Bavarian Inn Lodge has been an important destination for travelers, evidenced by the 1.25 million room-nights that have been booked there since its opening.

To learn more, visit http://www.bavarianinn.com/ and www.frankenmuthweddings.com.

Media contact:

For more information about the Bavarian Inn Lodge and Judy Zehnder Keller, please contact Sue Voyles, Logos Communications, Inc., sue@logos-communications.com or 734-667-2005. Visit the online press room at http://logos-communications.com/bavarianinnlodge

Members of LeCom Inc.’s Utility Construction Storm Restoration Team, a division of one of a family of companies owned by the Detroit, Michigan based Lentine Group, are working alongside New Jersey Central Power and Light linemen to help restore power to the Garden State’s residents in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

A two-mile caravan of 40 trucks carrying 300 linemen departed Detroit on Sunday to various locations to stand ready to assist with restoring power to the hundreds of thousands of New Jersey residents affected by the hurricane which hit the East Coast Monday morning.  LeCom linemen have been working alongside their local counterparts since yesterday bringing sub-stations back online and repairing feeder lines that will ultimately restore power for residents. The linemen will be working 16-hour shifts until power is restored.

“Our storm restoration team was formed in 2005 to respond to natural disasters like Sandy anywhere east of the Mississippi River,” said Anthony Lentine, Vice President of LeCom, Inc.  “Our teams are able to mobilize within 24 hours and we’re happy to be able to help the residents of New Jersey in a time of such great need.”

The LeCom team and trucks have been staged at various locations throughout New Jersey since Sunday evening preparing to assist with the power restoration efforts. “Our linemen were positioned out of harm’s way but close enough to be able to quickly respond after the storm had passed and it became safe enough to begin working,” said Lentine.

Calls of thanks have been pouring in to LeCom’s offices over the last few days from grateful New Jersey residents since the Detroit-based utility trucks arrived in their communities.

LeCom has assisted with restoring power in the wake of other natural disasters in recent years including Hurricanes Katrina, Wilma and Rita in 2005, Gustave in 2008 and Earl in 2010 and after numerous wind and ice storms across New York, Kansas, Boston, Chicago, Maine, West Virginia and Ohio.

About LeCom

Founded in 1980, LeCom, Inc. (www.lecomutility.com) has grown into a large company that performs contracting and installation services for communications and energy providers. It operates six offices and warehouses throughout metropolitan Detroit, including Port Huron and employs more than 200 highly skilled workers in its Communications and Utility Divisions.

The Utility Division provides services in all phases of power line construction, hybrid fiber/coax network construction as well as maintenance and emergency restoration services for major regional electrical providers.

A Frankenmuth couple will compete Sunday, Nov. 4 on The Food Network’s Cupcake Wars! Heather and Adam Rousseau, owners of SugarHigh Bakery located in the River Place Shops, are one of four couples vying for the show’s top $10,000 prize.

This is no ordinary challenge. The Rousseau’s and their competitors will be charged with creating cupcakes celebrating the return of an iconic ‘80s animated television series: The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. These “Heroes on a Half Shell” roam New York’s storm sewers fighting crime, eating pizza and practicing ninjutsu.

Heather, 25, and Adam, 26, opened SugarHigh in 2010, after attending the prestigious French Pastry School in Chicago.  Before that, Heather worked in a variety of food-related jobs, including catering.  She’s dreamt of being on The Food Network since watching the popular Ace of Cakes in high school.  Heather’s attempted to appear on Cupcake Wars for years, but according to producers, it was never the right fit.  The show contacted the Rousseau’s to participate in the episode featuring “baking couples.”

“It was a great, stressful, fun, exciting, and nerve racking time,” said Heather. “The time element was definitely our biggest challenge. My stomach was in knots, working in a foreign kitchen with crazy ingredients and standing in front of judges. It was a real honor to be competing against some of the best bakers in the U.S.  It gave us an opportunity to show our skills.”

In Sunday’s episode, airing at 8:00 p.m. EST on The Food Network, four teams of bakers face off in three elimination challenges until only one decorator remains. In addition to the cash prize, the winning team will get the opportunity to showcase their cupcakes at the winning gig — a cast and crew party for the new animated series. It’s cupcake vs. cupcake in Food Network’s tastiest competition yet!

“We are all so very proud of the Rousseau’s accomplishment,” said Michael Keller Zehnder,

General Manager of Frankenmuth’s River Place Shops.  “In true Ninja Turtle style, we’re hosting a pizza party for Heather and her supporters as we gather around the television on Sunday night watching Cupcake Wars. The Rousseau’s operate one of the best bakery/ confectionary shops in the Michigan. There’s no doubt Team SugarHigh will make Frankenmuth proud.”

Heather says business was booming at SugarHigh, a gourmet bake shop specializing in designer cakes, wedding cakes and cupcakes, even before news of Cupcake Wars was released.

“We are located in a great space,” said Heather, who — in addition to her husband — works with her mother and brother. “Thanks to The Food Network, our cupcake business is crazy busy. We make cupcakes in all types of flavors. Right now pumpkin is my husband’s favorite. Cupcakes are especially popular for wedding receptions, giving guests a variety of options over the traditional sheet cake.”

SugarHigh also makes homemade gelato and other sweet treats from the finest ingredients, along with Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free and Vegan options. Learn more at www.sugarhighllc.com.

Nickelodeon is bringing the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which first aired in 1987, back in an all-new half-hour animated series that kicks off this fall.

About Frankenmuth River Place Shops

Frankenmuth River Place Shops (www.frankenmuthriverplace.com) is an authentic re-creation of a Bavarian village located just minutes from the Bavarian Inn Restaurant and Lodge.  The outdoor mall features more than 40 shops and attractions at one location. Visitors enjoy architecture, floral gardens, streams and waterfalls, and of course great shopping opportunities. http://frankenmuthriverplace.com/newsletter/

Media contact:

Sue Voyles

734.667.2005

sue@logos-communications.com

For more information about the Frankenmuth River Place Shops complex, please contact General Manager Michael Keller Zehnder at (989) 798-2306 or michael@bavarianinn.com.