Uncle Mike's Food Emporium is now open in Grand Chute, but what exactly is a 'food emporium'?
GRAND CHUTE - What do you do when you can't decide between pizza and beer, ice cream, burgers, coffee or an award-winning kringle?
Uncle Mike's Food Emporium could be the solution for almost all of your taste buds.
The Wisconsin-based chain just recently opened it's newest and biggest location at 3860 W. Wisconsin Ave. in Grand Chute, just west of Appleton. Unlike it's other locations, this one sells more food products and has a dedicated space for a restaurant.
Mike Vande Walle, otherwise known as Uncle Mike, founded the first bakery alongside his wife Mary in De Pere in 2001. Going by "Uncle Mike's Bake Shoppe," the first location was solely a bakery, as Mike was a third-generational baker with a passion for the trade.
Three years after the first location opened, the family opened a second shop in Suamico, to keep up with the demand for kringle and other baked goods. A third location, on East Mason in Green Bay, opened soon after.
Mike passed away in 2020 before the opening of the Appleton-area location, but his wife, Mary, said she knows he would've loved it.
"He originally lived in Appleton and he always wanted to come back," she said. "Finally, we got this place for him."
His son and daughter, Nathan and Brittani Vande Walle, own and run the Grand Chute location.
The emporium carries on his fun, adventurous and lighthearted personality with bright, fun colors, unique employee uniforms — Hawaiian shirts and rainbow propeller hats — and a hand-painted mural of all the foods on offer, made by employee Rhiannon Ploor.
"My dad loved to have fun," Nathan Vande Walle said. "Our original uniforms were khakis and a green shirt, and one day, while he was on vacation, he decided we were all gonna wear Hawaiian shirts and a propeller hat."
What is a food emporium?
The best way to describe Uncle Mike's Food Emporium, Mary said, is a "one-stop shop."
Upon entering Uncle Mike's, you're greeted with a row of refrigerators to the left, filled with pre-made cakes, desserts, soups and take-home meals. To the right are display cases full of donuts, bagels and other delicious pastries.
The coffee bar sits right in the middle of the restaurant, where customers can order customizable drinks from a barista. The shop uses Colectivo Coffee for its drinks.
A small ice cream shop, where the handmade, unique ice cream flavors can be sampled and purchased, sits in the back-left corner of the store. Some of their ice cream flavors include Sea Salt Caramel Pecan Kringle, Carrot Cake, Amazing Chocolate Cake, Cinnamon Roll and Raspberry Cheesecake.
Directly next to it is the kringle station, where the many flavors of kringle can be purchased.
In the middle of the shop, next to the coffee bar, is a small sitting/lounge area with a few tables and comfortable chairs.
The back half of the shop, right behind the hand-painted mural, contains the restaurant and bar portion for those who want to sit down and enjoy a full meal.
Guests are greeted, and given the opportunity to sit at a table or right at the bar. Once seated, guests can explore the menu, available in person and online, which includes handmade pizzas, cooked on a wood-fire stove which can be seen from the dining area, burgers, sandwiches, salads and appetizers.
Alongside the lunch and dinner food options, the bar stocks 16 types of beers on draft, with local options from Green Bay and Appleton, and three different types of wine.
"The idea of the restaurant is just really good food from scratch and the same with the drinks," Nathan said. "We have our 100% woodfire stove, no gas involved, and every part of our pizza is homemade, including the crust and sauce."
Nathan said the idea behind the one-stop-shop was partly because he wanted to experience the restaurant business.
"I like a challenge, luckily we have a great staff," Nathan said. "It's been knew for everyone, but its been fun."
Nathan said that if they eventually expand into another location, he wants it to be solely focused on kringle production.
Best kringle in North America
Uncle Mike's baking and cake decorating skills have won the chain over 100 awards since it first opened, including Best Fritter 2019, Wisconsin's Finest Chocolate Chip Cookie 2020 and Best Cheesy Bread 2018.
Most celebrated, however, is its uniquely shaped kringle. A kringle is a Danish pastry, traditionally shaped like a pretzel with a middle layer of filling. The dough is typically made of 36 layers with lots of butter, making it a flaky texture.
In September 2014, Uncle Mike's Sea Salt Caramel Pecan Kringle won the North American Kringle Competition. That same year the chain won second and third place in the 2014 Bakers Best Kringle Competition.
The sea salt, caramel and pecan kringle was also named Best Kringle in Wisconsin in 2018 and holds the title of 2018's "Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin." It won the latter title thanks to fan votes in Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce's annual contest of the same name.
With nine regular kringle flavors and more than 12 seasonal flavors to choose from, the Danish pastry can be purchased at any of the four locations, or online through the website.
Visit unclemikesbakeshoppe.com to place an order.
Reach Jelissa Burns at 920-453-5107 or jburns1@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @burns_jelissa or on Instagram at burns_jelissa.
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Uncle Mike's Food Emporium in Grand Chute offers dinner, beer, kringle
