Authentic Danish Baking for 70 years.
Christian Olesen emigrated to Racine, WI from Denmark in 1923 at the young age of 15. Christian’s father came to Racine two years prior with the goal of saving enough money to send back for his children to join him. Shortly after arriving in Racine, Christian found a job in a local bakery, bringing with him a hard work ethic and desire to learn a trade. For more than twenty years he worked in a number of local Danish bakeries, learning the craft and improving his ability as a baker. In 1949, Christian partnered with a gentleman named Harvey Holtz, a local bookkeeper, to fulfill his dream of owning his own business. They called it “O&H Bakery” and it was located at 1667 Douglas Ave. Christian’s son, Ray, was already in high school when O&H Bakery opened began working alongside his father learning the trade himself. In 1963 Ray and his wife Myrna purchased Harvey Holtz’s share of the business and although the business was now 100% owned by the Olesen Family, no change was made to the business name. Ray was innovative, always striving to exceed his customers expectations and working hard to build O&H into a sustaining business. He taught himself and others how to decorate a cake, developing that business into one of the most well known areas of our bakery. Ray and Myrna’s three sons, Dale, Michael and Eric each grew up working alongside their parents. By 1972, the business had outgrown its original location and Ray purchased a former dairy just two blocks north on Douglas which became the new location for O&H Danish Bakery. With a larger storefront and improved accessibility (off street customer parking) the business continued to grow at a fast pace.
In 1982 O&H opened its second location at 4006 Durand Ave. The bakery continued to grow it’s presence both in Racine and outside through customers who called and sent Kringle by mail. By this point the 3rd Generation were each working full time in the bakery. By the 1990’s, the fourth generation was also working alongside their parents at the bakery, beginning to learn the trade and traditions O&H represented.
What O&H is about?
Sharing in the good life through a taste of happiness. One slice, one gift and one person at a time.
Family Service
Warm smiles, good conversations and great people; every day, we strive to provide you with same service as we would our own family.
The Olesen Family Guarantee
We want your bakery specialties to be perfect down to the very last bite. And if for some reason you are not satisfied, we will make it right.
Obsessed with Quality
We simply believe that to make great bakery, you have to do it the right way - with no short-cuts using the traditional methods passed down through generations.
Community Focused
Racine, Wisconsin has that small-town feel. And we would not be here without the support of many from our community, which is why we are determined to give back
We believe in each of these values in everything thing that we do
Celebrate like a Dane, with a little bit of the good life
"Hygge" (pronouned 'hoo-ga') means creating a nice, warm atmosphere and enjoying the good things in life. The warm glow of candlelight is hygge. Friends and family, that is hygge too. And let us not forget eating and drinking, preferably sitting around the table for hours on end, discussing the big and small things in life. Perhaps the Danish idea of hygge explains why the Danes are often considered the happiest people in the world.
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* Hygge definition courtesy of VisitDenmark.com
Family service: Everything starts and ends with family
It is not uncommon to see our family talking with customers still today
For us, everything starts and ends with family. That is why when you walk into one of our stores, email us, or give us a call we strive to treat you the same way that we would our own family. Warm smiles, good conversations and great people - this is what we believe in having every single day.
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A Family Tradition: Our Guarantee: We want you to love every bite
Ray Olesen shared his wisdom with his sons, which we honor today
We are honored when our customers choose us for their bakery and so we want your danish delight to be perfect down to the very last bite. If for some reason you are not satisfied, simply contact us and we will make it right. Call us old fashioned, but that is exactly the way our parents taught us.
The Finest Ingredients & Obsessed with quality: because how you make it matters:
Even today, every Kringle that we sell takes three full days to make
We simply believe that in order to make great bakery you have to do it the right way - with no shortcuts. That is why we still use traditional recipes and baking methods handed down from past generations. It is also why we still make our bakery and fillings from scratch because how you make it matters.
10 окт 2019
