Deising’s Bakery, Restaurant & Catering Co.’s owners have never hesitated to make capital investments to improve business. Uwe and Ingrid withstood competition from area bakeries, becoming one of two left standing, and expanded the business to two locations. Their children, Norman, Eric and Kirsten Wright (son Peter has since retired from the bakery due to injury) have continued what the elder Deisings started and are making the bakery their own.

In 1965, Uwe and Ingrid purchased Ketterer’s Bakery in midtown Kingston, N.Y. Though the Deisings immigrated from Germany, they promoted the business as a European, not strictly German, bakery to meet the needs of the area’s divergent population.

By 1980, they had outgrown the space and purchased a second location in uptown Kingston. This second location has been expanded several times in the intervening years. Uwe and Ingrid answered customer calls for soup and sandwiches by adding a lunch counter, which was then expanded into a full-scale restaurant when a neighboring building became available.

The uptown bakery expanded again with the purchase of another neighboring building. Now the location featured a full-line retail bakery, a restaurant and catering service and three banquet rooms. All bakery production also had been moved to the uptown location.

When Uwe and Ingrid retired in 1999, they handed the reins of a very successful business to their children. In the 11 years since, the bakery remains successful, but the second generation of Deisings made some changes to put its own stamp on the business.

“Business has changed,” says Eric Deising, president. “What worked 15 years ago doesn’t work today. You have to keep up with the changes or you will quickly find yourself out of business.”

A major change the Deisings implemented was management of the bakery. Previously, all problems large or small were brought to Uwe or Ingrid and then to Eric or one of his siblings–it was the way business had always been done.

But a consultant changed that. “It was something I never thought I’d do, because what was [a consultant] going to tell me that I didn’t already know about running a bakery?” Eric says.

However, a consultant came into the bakery instead of calling one day and happened to catch Eric at the just the right moment when he was frustrated from dealing with several petty problems.

Management shake-up

“He admitted he knew nothing about bakery, but he told me he wasn’t going to be a consultant for the bakery–he was going to be a consultant for the business. He was the first consultant who had said that to me. I heard him out, and he sold me on what he could do,” he says.

The consulting firm worked with the Deisings for three months. Managers were designated for each of the business’ five departments–production, retail store (one for each location), restaurant and kitchen. All 84 employees report to their respective manager.

Deising’s Bakery has automated as much as possible, but many tasks still require a lot of handwork, such as filling and folding pastry dough.

The five managers in turn report to Eric. The managers meet with Eric once a month to keep everyone on the same page and abreast of any changing situations.

“This new structure has really helped us,” Eric says. “Now we’re running the business instead of the business running us.”

The siblings are able to focus on the business side and long-range planning, although Eric and Norman still work in the production department every day.

“I don’t have to be there, but I am. It’s more for me to see what’s going on,” Eric says.

An established management structure also allowed some longtime employees to take on additional responsibilities. For example, Keith Grant, a long-serving production employee, was named production manager and is in charge of purchasing. “He’s the best shopper in the world,” Deising says, only half in jest. “I think the consultant cost us $60,000. That sounds like a huge chunk of money, but I think it’s already paid for itself just on Keith being the purchaser and the deals he can get.”

Deising views the cost of the consultant as an educational expenditure, similar to going to college, except he only had to learn things that pertained directly to his business. “Now I’m more of a business man and not just a baker who only knows the bakery trade,” Deising says. “I’m running a business, not just a bakery.”

Another change the Deising siblings implemented also altered the bakery, this time in production. When commodities prices started to rise, they began looking for ways to offset the costs so they wouldn’t have to raise product prices. They joined RPIA, a purchasing group, which allowed them to receive discounts on ingredients and packaging, but it still wasn’t enough.

The Deisings had wanted to purchase a flour silo for many years. The bakery was using about 50,000 lbs. of flour in a four- to five-week period. Storage space was cramped, and the task of handling the bags was becoming overwhelming for the production staff.

However, a silo also meant that only one type of flour could be used for the majority of the bakery’s 400 products. This would require a complete reformulation of the product line.

When flour prices skyrocketed several years ago, the Deisings decided it was time to get serious. It took a year of R&D, but the Deisings were able to complete the product reformulations in-house due to the experience and knowledge of their bakers, many of whom have been with the bakery for almost 30 years.

In 2009, they installed a 55,000-lb. flour silo, which now saves the bakery about $8 per 100 lbs. of flour. “Those savings will allow us to pay off the silo in three years, and we were able to keep our prices competitive. Customers didn’t notice the switch [in flour]. It’s one of the best things I’ve done since my father retired,” Eric says.

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