The quaint town of Frankenmuth, Mich., boasts charming Bavarian-style architecture, a walkable downtown and a warm family atmosphere. And this time of year, the pace picks up mightily in town thanks to Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland, the enormous holiday store that sprawls across more than two acres.
Fact is, the pace never really slows much at Christmas Wonderland, which can safely claim the title of the world’s largest year-round Christmas store, thanks to founder Wally Bronner, who launched the retailer as a storefront in 1945 and just kept building.
Everything about Bronner’s is big. An estimated 2 million people visit annually—as many as 50,000 over the Thanksgiving weekend—while about 100,000 lights shine outside from dusk to dawn. (Bronner’s estimates its electric bill at about $450,000 per year.) The staff personalizes 400,000 of the 2 million ornaments purchased annually, and visitors can browse decorations and gifts from 35 nations. All of which means that even though the Bronner’s parking lot accommodates nearly 1,500 cars, late arrivers this time of year must find parking somewhere on the grass of the 27-acre lot on which the store sits. (Master your Bronner’s trivia here.)
Amazingly, Bronner’s isn’t the only outsize business in this town of 5,000, which was settled in 1845 and is located 90 minutes northwest of Detroit. Zehnder’s, a restaurant run by its namesake family since 1927, boasts seating for 1,500 hungry visitors (nearly a million annually) eager to dig into all-you-can-eat, family-style chicken dinners. Another branch of the Zehnder family runs the nearby Bavarian Inn, which seats 1,200. Both restaurants are connected to hotels, which offer amenities ranging from golf to water parks.
We caught up with Sen. Ken Horn (R) and Rep. Rodney Wakeman (R) to talk about Bronner’s and other attractions in Frankenmuth.
Did you grow up in Frankenmuth?
Wakeman: I grew up in the area (born in nearby Saginaw), but my parents were born there. My grandfather moved there after World War II and in 1947 built and ran the only movie theater in town, the Ken. Many people I know still talk about their memories of the theater, even though it is no longer there. I am very proud to have that connection to the town.
Horn: My parents emigrated from Germany, they fled the Berlin Wall, and came to Detroit (where) I grew up. In 1979 I was laid off, and so I looked around and decided that I would apply in Frankenmuth at the Bavarian Inn, where I got a job as a waiter (and met his wife-to-be, also a server). This town just immediately accepted me when I came.
What makes Frankenmuth special?
Horn: The people! When I lived elsewhere, you didn’t know the person next door. But this is a volunteer community where everybody knows each other. You see people all the time, they see some trash on the sidewalk, they pick it up and throw it away. They are welcoming to everybody. Doesn’t matter who you are, what you believe in, the color of your skin, you are welcome in Frankenmuth.
Wakeman: It’s a small community, and what really makes it special is the work ethic of the people of Frankenmuth. First and foremost, at places like Bronner’s, Zehnder’s and the Bavarian Inn—but every other small business in town has a family connection as well. (Wakeman noted that Zehnder family matriarch, Dorothy, turns 101 this year and still comes to the restaurant often.)
When did you first visit Bronner’s? Do you have memories about the store?
Wakeman: Remember when you were young and helped your parents decorate the tree and all the excitement of that? And then walking in on Christmas morning with all the presents there, and how big that feeling was? Magnify that by a million and that’s what it’s like to walk in the store the first time. The first thing you might think when you walk in is “I’m gonna need a road map!” You could spend the whole day there and not see 75% of what they have to offer. There is no end to what they have.
Horn: My sister worked there when I visited the first time to buy gifts. I got to know Wally and Irene Bronner (the founders) and their kids. When you go into the store and see how big it is, you also need to realize that a huge part of the business is going on behind the scenes with internet sales. They are packing up ornaments and sending them around the world. I remember the story about when John Wayne called up to order a Santa suit. Everyone who could was trying to get on that phone line so they could listen. He later came to visit.
How would you describe the impact of Bronner’s on your district?
Horn: Travel Michigan says that it attracts between 2 million and 3 million people every year, and it’s packed from sometime in August right through New Year’s Day
Wakeman: In a word, major. It’s an all-year-round business and a major employer in town, so it has a major impact on the tax base of the town because of all the activity that happens there and also around town.
What else is there to do in Frankenmuth besides Bronner’s, Zehnder’s and the Bavarian Inn?
Wakeman: Christmas there is the most magical experience, with all the lights everywhere, just walking down Main Street.
Horn: Take a walk behind the shops on Main Street to see the neighborhoods, and you will see how beautiful they are, how clean it is, how people take care of their homes. And in the summer, the flowers they plant in town are just amazing. And so are the lights in the winter.
Joe Rassenfoss is a Denver-based freelance writer.
“My District” gives NCSL members a chance to talk about life in the places they represent, from high-profile events and destinations to the fun facts only the locals know.
The responses have been edited for length and clarity.