Charles E. Entenmann, Last of a Storied Baking Family, Dies at 92

Charles E. Entenmann, the final of three brothers who, with their mom, ran a Lengthy Island bakery because it grew to become one of many nation’s best-known producers of baked-goods, died on Feb. 24 in Hialeah, Fla. He was 92.

His daughter-in-law, Wendy Entenmann, confirmed the loss of life.

At Bay Shore Excessive College’s 50-year reunion in 1997, Mr. Entenmann informed his classmates that he was “only a baker,” an understated description that conjured up the homespun picture of a small store just like the one his grandfather began nearly a century earlier.

However mass manufacturing had lengthy since turn into a lifestyle on the firm’s Lengthy Island plant, and Mr. Entenmann, who had a knack for engineering and administration, presided over the automation of the cake strains. He additionally oversaw the design of a computer-controlled system that carried elements to the blending vats.

The product within the white packing containers with the cellophane home windows didn’t change, although, and he contended that that consistency was what had sustained Entenmann’s.

“We survived the place so many different wonderful baking homes vanished as a result of we caught to high quality and devised methods to manage high quality,” he informed The New York Instances in 1976. “The 2-millionth piece of cake should not solely be good — it should be nearly as good as the primary.”

The primary had been baked by his grandfather William Entenmann, who got here to New York from Stuttgart, Germany, and in 1898 opened a bakery within the Flatbush part of Brooklyn, making rolls and delivering them from a horse-drawn wagon. When his son got here down with rheumatic fever, he moved to a spot he hoped would have brisker air: Bay Shore, on Lengthy Island’s South Shore.

As the corporate’s operation there expanded — the plant ultimately coated 14 acres — cake was added to the listing of merchandise. Morgans and Vanderbilts loved a slice on occasion, in line with the corporate web site. Within the Nineteen Fifties, Frank Sinatra positioned weekly orders for crumb coffeecake.

Charles Entenmann and his brothers stepped into govt roles in 1951 after their father, William Jr., died. Within the Seventies, the manager suite was a single room with 4 Chippendale desks: one for Mr. Entenmann, two for his brothers and the fourth for George Rosenthal, the corporate’s labor skilled.

They shared managerial selections with their mom, Martha (Schneider) Entenmann, who had stored the books and supervised the workplace when her husband was alive. She grew to become the face of the corporate — actually. When Entenmann’s went public in 1976, the corporate’s inventory certificates carried a picture of Mrs. Entenmann, who was recognized to the a whole bunch of staff on the Bay Shore plant as Mrs. E.

The corporate stopped making bread and rolls within the Nineteen Fifties to focus on muffins, pies and pastries. It additionally dropped its house supply routes, switching to grocery store chains and grocery shops.

In 1978, the household bought the corporate to Warner-Lambert, which on the time manufactured every thing from prescribed drugs to sweet. Entenmann’s has been owned since 2002 by Bimbo Bakeries USA, a division of a Mexican firm that claims it’s the largest industrial baker in the USA. Moreover Entenmann’s, Bimbo markets venerable bread and pastry manufacturers like Arnold, Sara Lee and Thomas’.

Charles Edward Entenmann was born in Bay Shore on July 12, 1929. He joined the household enterprise after serving within the Military.

He’s survived by a son, Charles; a daughter, Susan Nalewajk; seven grandchildren; and a lot of great-grandchildren. His spouse, Nancy (Drake) Entenmann, died in 2014. A daughter, Barbara Thompson, died in 2018. His brother William died in 2011, his brother Robert in 2016.

Mr. Entenmann retired after the sale to Warner-Lambert and moved to Florida, the place he began two firms: Biosearch, to develop a self-sustaining energy cell, and Biolife, to supply merchandise that assist cease bleeding.