According to local legend – for cake-lovers at least – Ezra D. Groman opened his first bakery in Bethlehem in 1927, fermenting a beloved business that would endure for over 50 years. But few know that it was only the next stage of a family legacy in baked goods.<\/p>\n
According to Richad Groman Jr., who took over management of Groman\u2019s Bakery in the 1980s, \u201cBaking, in any city, there were always these small places, owner-operated corner stores, that was part of life in those days.\u201d<\/p>\n
The forgotten facts of the city\u2019s delicious history and the Gromans\u2019 place in it are on display at the Kemmerer Museum\u2019s current exhibit, \u201cBaked into Bethlehem,\u201d featuring tantalizing bites of the city\u2019s confectionary culture, from old photos and recipes to classic toys to big clunky machines that once produced mouthwatering dough by the sheet.<\/p>\n
Groman, himself, is partnering with Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites to host a monthly discussion at the museum, rolling out stories and mixing them with visitors\u2019 personal recollections of this sweet city staple.<\/p>\n
For much of the 20th century Groman\u2019s Bakery was a necessary stop for its delightful breads, pies, tortes and treats, and residents fondly recall the shops on East Broad Street, Linden Street and at Hess\u2019s Department Store, but the story begins far earlier.<\/p>\n
Groman ancestors arrived with the second Moravian sea voyage in the mid-18th century and lived in town for a hundred years until Maria Schultz, called Sister Schultz, was born in the 1830s. She was a Gemeinhaus resident, one of the \u201cunmarried spinsters\u201d of the day, and was the maker of remarkable peppermint candies still known today as Moravian Mints. The recipe was passed to her favorite nephew, Edward Groman, born in 1860, who sold them at his store, Daddy Groman\u2019s Moravian Mintery, from 1925.<\/p>\n
The mint business fell flat during the Depression because none of the national hotels and restaurants who sold his mints could afford to pay Edward for his goods. He concentrated on local business, which really picked up during World War II and blossomed in the \u201950s.<\/p>\n
Edward\u2019s son Richard had left college to serve in the military and returned from the war using the GI Bill to complete an electrical engineering degree at Lehigh University. But with business doing so well, Ezra asked him to join him at the bakery. The artistic sort who had boundless confidence after his military service – Americans could do anything! – Richard and his wife Mae traveled to Chicago, where he spent a year and half training with the famous English baker Joseph Lambeth, from whom he learned the science of European cake decorating.<\/p>\n
In 1952 the Gromans purchased a new property on 13th Avenue. \u201cIt was a huge property with orchards in the back, and we used the fruit in the baking business,\u201d Groman tells his audiences at Kemerer. \u201cEventually the state commandeered the land to build Route 378, so in 1964 my father and grandfather bought the old Bethlehem Baking Company at Second Avenue and Broad Street.\u201d<\/p>\n
That business had closed in the 1950s, and the building was remodeled to \u201cmodern\u201d standards, including full air conditioning. \u201cIt was the up-to-date-ist bakery you could imagine,\u201d Groman said. \u201cI think Groman\u2019s just was at the right place at the right time in history. It started small but it grew because of what was going on in America. America grew, the economy grew.\u201d<\/p>\n
Groman\u2019s Bakery eventually expanded to nine stores, while the Second Avenue site became a feature of everyday life for generations. More women held jobs and were baking less at home, so locals picked up their bread before and after work. They dropped in for morning doughnuts, passed time in the front coffee shop with friends, ordered their favorite tortes for holidays and weddings and anniversaries, and there were always jobs for high school kids to work after class. The boys cleaned baking sheets and the girls took orders up front. Even former Northampton County Judge Alfred Williams got his first job at Groman\u2019s Bakery.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy grandfather always said when you taste something from Groman\u2019s you knew it\u2019s from Groman\u2019s,\u201d Richard Groman Jr. said wistfully. \u201cEverything was so unique to Groman\u2019s. It was really amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kemmerer Museum is keeping these memories alive today because nothing lasts forever.<\/p>\n
Even for a new owner in the 1990s, the scale of the operation became too cumbersome. Times changed, expenses grew too great, and experienced staff members were retiring after decades in the kitchen. Groman\u2019s closed for good around 2003.<\/p>\n
Today, boutique bakeries cater to fans of baking shows, but for generations Groman\u2019s was first and only stop for many in Bethlehem and the Lehigh Valley, and the Groman family continues to bake their original recipe sugar cookies for Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites during the holiday season.<\/p>\n
The \u201cBaked into Bethlehem\u201d exhibit is available at Kemmerer Museum daily, but Richasrd Groman Jr. will continue to appear for tours and nostalgia at 11 a.m. March 21, April 25, May 16, June 20 and July 25, where he welcomes visitors to share their memories.<\/p>\n
For information or tickets, visit historicbethlehem.org or call 610-360-8687.<\/p>\n
PRESS PHOTO COURTESY KEMMERER MUSEUMRichard Groman Sr., who learned the science of cake decorating while in the very first class at Joseph Lambeth\u2019s baking school in Chicago.<\/p>\n
Press photos by Autumn JastrzemskiRichard Groman Jr. describes an old advertisement for Sister Schultz\u2019s \u201cpure and wholesome\u201d Moravian peppermint candy.<\/p>\n
The establishment of Erwin J. Bruch. Bruch learned the trade from the family of John William Rauch, who may have been the very first pretzel baker in Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n
None<\/p>\n
On display until late July is this Colborne Manufacturing Co. pie rolling machine from 1945. It was owned and used by Southside resident Adele Martin.<\/p>\n
Bethlehem resident and Groman\u2019s Bakery fan for many years, Pat Posh tells Groman he can call her at home with family secrets so nobody else can hear. \u201cThere are some recipes I\u2019d kill for!\u201d<\/p>\n
This machine is a bread slicer made by Oliver Inc. Believe it or not, it\u2019s a brand-new product, built just last year in Walker Missouri.<\/p>\n
Groman tells visitors about his family\u2019s home butter shelf: An entire shelf for a butter tub.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"According to local legend – for cake-lovers at least – Ezra D. Groman opened his first bakery in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":141443,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[119,121,120],"class_list":["post-141442","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-allentown","tag-allentown","tag-allentown-headlines","tag-allentown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141442","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=141442"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141442\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/141443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=141442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=141442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=141442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}