"Wholeheartedly a Baker"

Founded in 1914 and in the 4th generation of ownership by the Grünhoff family, Grünhoffs Back-stuuv in Norddeich is an institution. "Each generation has set its own accents and developed the company accordingly," says Managing Director Lars Grünhoff.

What is good remains good

In the last 20 years, the company has grown significantly again "Our business is heavily influenced by tourism; in the summer months, we have much more work than in the winter," says Lars Grünhoff. "Currently, we have eleven branches and 180 employees, but we will downsize to six branches at the beginning of next year - mainly for health reasons on my part, but also due to a shortage of staff. We cannot train as much as would be necessary. On the other hand, it is positive that this allows us to maintain the quality level: what remains is also good.

East Frisian Specialties

Grünhoffs Backstuuv boasts several specialties from over a 100-year baking tradition, such as the 'East Frisian Black Bread', a robust wholemeal bread. "This is a real East Frisian specialty, so popular with tourists that they often order it from us after their vacation," Lars Grünhoff cites a constant seller in the assortment. "Also, our currant loaf is something special. It has a very high content of raisins and currants and stays fresh for a long time - no comparison to a normal raisin bread. And last but not least, with our 'Lütetsburger Castle Stollen' we also have a Christmas specialty in the program: We have a cooperation with the Lütetsburg Castle here on site, according to whose old recipe we bake the Lütetsburger Castle Stollen. We are very well known for this product.

Baking makes happy

In addition to the actual bakery business, Lars Grünhoff focuses on breakfast offers and a small lunch menu as well as delivery business as further pillars. "We do not have products for which we would need a cook, but we have positioned ourselves in such a way that even an untrained person can prepare simple dishes like tarte flambée, pizza or baguette after a certain training period," explains Lars Grünhoff. The delivery business already makes up a third of the turnover, a share that will increase even further as the company plans to downsize. In the meantime, 300 customers are already using the delivery service from Grünhoffs Backstuuv, including hotels and guesthouses, restaurants, nursing homes, and hospitals. "We would like to expand the delivery service further, since the whole thing can be managed very well," says Lars Grünhoff. He himself is "a baker at heart," as he says. "For me, there was never anything else. It gives me joy every day to work with my great team. And when you develop your own products that also make customers happy, it is a special incentive. Because it is precisely this that ties in with the success of work done with joy.