Kessenich’s showroom includes furniture for home and restaurant kitchens.
For many Madisonians, Kessenich’s is a name synonymous with commercial kitchens and restaurant supplies. While the old building on Fair Oaks Avenue, now demolished, is just a memory, the 90-year-old business lives on in a larger space on Progress Road, east of Stoughton Road off Femrite Drive.
“Over the last year, we’ve focused on reconnecting in a deeper way with Madison and Dane County,” says marketing director Diane Sorenson, “to offer not only necessary equipment and services to the commercial folks, but also [serve] the community.”
Madison was a whole different scene in 1929 when Herman Kessenich launched the company in his basement. He began as a candy wholesaler. His business grew to include soda fountain syrups, flavorings for ice cream and, eventually, wine and liquor just after Prohibition. Then barware sales were added. Kessenich’s now sells a full suite of services: food service equipment, commercial design consulting, and an in-house delivery and installation crew that serves commercial cooks from “a mom-and-pop restaurant up to a government facility, school or hospital,” says Sorenson.
In the new, 100,000-square foot showroom space, there are shelves upon shelves of fun gadgets like Microplane zesters, vegetable peelers, baking sheets and rolling pins. Looking for kitchen storage units? There’s probably an answer here. An area of the new showroom is dedicated to what’s called in the restaurant biz “tabletop supplies” — dinnerware, flatware and glassware, including fine glassware and china, as well as furniture — tables, chairs, barstools. One thing that differentiates Kessenich’s from other kitchen stores is it carries many heavy-duty materials meant for restaurants.
Sales manager Dawn Vogler says that Kessenich’s “has the buying power to get the best deals.” Customers “also get our years of expertise to answer questions and to make suggestions on other options that are available.” That’s hard to find when ordering on the internet, says Vogler. “There’s also nothing quite like holding something in your hand. You can’t feel the quality of a wine glass or the weight of a knife on the internet.”
Kessenich’s has built a demo kitchen into the mix, so chefs can try out large equipment before committing to a larger purchase, and home chefs can try their hand on a commercial salamander broiler, just because.
In an effort to bring in more home cooks, Kessenich’s recently debuted cooking classes in tandem with Sustainable Kitchens of Milwaukee. Unlike some cooking classes, Kessenich’s “Chop University” introduces of-the-moment techniques and the latest technology being used in professional kitchens. There have already been classes in knife skills, “Extreme Pantry Makeover” and “One-Pot Magic.” Future plans include classes for young cooks and a craft cocktail class with a celebrity bartender.
“We always strive to bring the latest trends to light,” says Vogler. “We have access to a big group of chefs and industry experts who regularly visit us to put on demos and try out new ideas in our test kitchen — and these are always open to the public.” Events are listed on the store’s Facebook page.
Kessenich’s
3226 Progress Road
800-248-0555, kessenichs.com
