Where it all began
The William (Tiny) Zehnder, Jr. family owns the Bavarian Inn of Frankenmuth. Tiny’s family purchased Fischer’s Hotel in 1950. Tiny left farming, and he and his young wife, Dorothy (a former waitress at Fischer’s), became the managers of the new business. In his autobiographical book, Tiny wrote that “Dorothy and I started the Bavarian Inn with huge debt, and we built up the business with additions over 30 years.”
“Her area of the Bavarian Inn is the kitchen and mine is someplace else,” said Tiny with a smile. They worked side-by-side to develop the Bavarian Inn Restaurant into what it is today. It has been the persistence and the perseverance of this dynamic team that helped transform the restaurant to its authentic German flavor that is reflected in the building, entertainment, costumes, and food.
Dorothy has always had a passion for cooking and teaching others, and has routinely worked alongside family and team members at the Bavarian Inn Restaurant, inspiring the team to make sure that the quality of our food products is second to none.
Tiny encouraged many other Frankenmuth businesses to either build or remodel their buildings in the Bavarian style. Due to poor health, Tiny resigned from the management of the Bavarian Inn in 2004. He remained Chairman of the Board of Bavarian Inn, Inc. until his death in 2006.
