Food for Thought with Alex Bielak Denninger’s - A Hamilton Diamond’s Anniversary (Part 1)

Denninger’s - A Hamilton Diamond’s Anniversary (Part 1)

Sometimes the stars align. With my 60th column for the Hamiltonian, I get to honour the Diamond Anniversary of (another) Hamilton Institution: Denninger’s Foods of the World. (A recent column congratulated Tim Hortons on the fifty golden years since their first store opened in Hamilton. So we move from gold to diamonds!)

Not just that, but I get to reflect on my own roots in what is close to the 60th year of operation of the Parade Delicatessen in London, England. My parents, immigrants from post-war Poland, built that business, and I worked there most Saturdays and holidays as a lad. My parents are gone, and I’ve moved on: the Parade, a local landmark, continues to prosper.

The parallels (see even the cover picture for this column) are striking: they may explain why I get such a deep sense of satisfaction, and yes, sense of place, when I walk into a Denninger’s store. The sights and smells pull me back in time; familiar aromas of cured and smoked meats and fresh baked goods, the taste of generous
product samples and the visual impact of so many colourful local and international products arrayed on the shelves.

The third generation of Denningers is now involved in the business which has ~300 employees, many of whom have been with the company for decades. I sat down for an interview with Martin Frank, a grandson of the founders, and a current co-owner of the Company, at the flagship location at 284 King Street East in Hamilton.

There, a major renovation is almost complete. He says he’s proud to be part of the team “with all our staff and (my) siblings and family, and everybody pulling together.” Like me, he worked behind the counter as a youth, learning the business from the ground up, before heading off to train in food and beverage management and then work in retail. I think we almost had a moment when I told him I felt I could effortlessly slip behind the meat counter – whether at the Parade or any of the Denninger’s, and begin interacting with customers, slicing sausage and selling some of the finest and tastiest products on the face of the planet.

No matter one’s ethnic background, I’m convinced a large measure of Denninger’s longevity and success, not to mention loyal customer base, is attributable to customers finding echoes of their own sensory, ethnic memories as they peruse the store aisles.

Each of the stores has a bistro area for those who want a quick bite. Where else would you find a distinguished Canadian-born gent of Caribbean origins lunching on Coca Cola and bacon, surrounded by a coterie of genteel friends, and being served by Herta Denninger, daughter of the founders Rudolph and Frieda, herself?

The late Lincoln Alexander was a friend of the family and a fan of the King Street store. He and some charming German ladies of my acquaintance were fixtures there at weekends for many years. I had the pleasure of joining them once or twice with my family, and fondly recall Linc solemnly conferring “honorary degrees” from Guelph (where he was Chancellor) on my pre-teen girls as they munched their lunches.

So, the Denninger’s story is somewhat familiar. Immigrants who came to a new country from Europe in the early fifties, and built a successful business (six stores from Oakville to Stoney Creek) based on hard work, family recipes, business savvy and international connections.

Less known, perhaps, is that they operate their own Hamilton-based 60,000 square-foot manufacturing and meat processing plant (complete with traditional smokehouse), a 15,000 sq. ft. warehouse, and only sell locally sourced meat and free range poultry.

Frank spent eight years at the production facility and, even now, says he could step in and make sausage if he had to. It’s here they can now produce over 300 different products; fresh and in small batches. “It is a little more cumbersome doing things at that level but we do find it is necessary to ensure freshness and quality,” he noted.

Wanting to get back to retail, Frank asked to take on the King Street location to bring the older store some needed TLC. That led to the reno, including making it the greenest of the Denningers’ locations, if not “one of the greenest stores downtown.” He’s clearly proud of the energy efficiencies they’ve achieved, but underscores the main driving force was one of giving back to the downtown community.

On a recent visit to the Upper James location, the latest Denninger’s flier caught my eye. Naturally, since the title, “foods for thought” echoed that of this column, but also because it featured Food Network Canada’s, Lynn Crawford, who is beginning an ongoing marketing relationship with Denninger’s. (The flier also advertised a time-limited super special: traditional bratwurst available at 1954 prices (99c/lb). They were delicious served with some red cabbage!)

I ask Frank if there are any specials we should look for on the 21st, which is when Crawford will be at the King Street location re-opening. “Absolutely… our Tomahawk steak…I think it’s something that is just fantastic (and is going) to be the summertime hit.”

It promises to be a grand and likely popular occasion, so get there early! I look forward to meeting Chef as she demonstrates how to grill that Tomahawk steak, and will report on that and what’s in the future for Denninger’s in my next column…

To see more pictures, click here.

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