| Berger
Cookie History
In 1835
two brothers named George and Henry Berger traveled to the
United States from Germany. George, was a metal worker and
lived in West Baltimore, Henry, was a baker and lived in East
Baltimore. Henry had three sons, George, Henry and Otto. Each
brother opened their own little bakery, with the exception
of Henry who took over his father's bakery.
In the
late 1800s "open air" markets dominated the way
people shopped. They could purchase all their food needs in
one general area. Each vendor had their own little shop, or
as they were known, stall. It is believed that each brother
maintained a stall in one of about five markets throughout
the city.
Around
the turn of the century Otto died and George and Henry combined
the three bakeries, thus forming "Bergers". As the
automobile became more of a way of travel, the brothers expanded
the business to the other markets. Sadly, Henry passed away
and that left George as the sole proprietor of the bakery.
George
had a young man by the name of Charles E. Russell in his employ.
When George was ready to retire he sold the bakery to Mr.
Russell. The bakery flourished under the care of Mr. Russell.
When Mr.
Russell retired his son, Charles E. Russell, Jr. took control
of the bakery operation. The bakery continued to prosper through
the depression and two world wars. Mr. Russell, Jr. along
with his two sons, Charles 3rd and Dennis, worked together
in the business. He also had two brothers working for him
by the name of Charles and Benjamin DeBaufre. Mr. Russell
retired in 1967, turning over control of the bakery to his
sons, the DeBaufre brothers branched out on their own, creating
DeBaufre Bakeries, Inc.
The first
two years were a struggle to make a fledgling company profitable.
However in 1969 the bakery had become profitable enough to
purchase Berger's from the Russell family. In 1978 Charles'
son, Charles, Jr., purchased a portion of the bakery. In 1988,
Charles, Sr., passed away, leaving Benjamin and his son Charles,
Jr. along with John Koehler, in control of the company. In
1994 Benjamin retired. Charles, Jr. was now the sole proprietor
of Berger Cookies.
The bakery
has continued to prosper and grow from its relatively modest
roots to one of the most recognized cookie in the Maryland
region. We still maintain the same recipes, with some minor
adjustments to adapt to the changes in processing of the raw
ingredients, as in the 1800s. The same commitment to produce
a quality product that our loyal customers can enjoy is maintained
in our production today.
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