Papa Brunk’s Bakery opening soon in Fort

By Chris Spangler

There’s a new doughboy in town.

Tim Brunk, head baker at the Pine Cone Restaurant in Johnson Creek for the past 25 years, and his wife, Jill, plan to open Papa Brunk’s Bakery on Fort Atkinson’s south side in mid-October.

The city of Fort Atkinson has awarded a $15,000 Capital Catalyst Revolving Loan to assist the business, to be located in the former Subway building at 1220 Janesville Ave.

The couple said that Papa Brunk’s will offer traditional baked goods, such as doughnuts, brownies, cookies, cakes, dessert bars, cupcakes, muffins, cinnamon and pecan rolls, dinner rolls, bread, elephant ears, pies and cheesecakes. Bagels also are on the horizon.

“And if you want to order something special, we can try it when we get going,” Tim said. 

Jill noted that unlike corporate-owned supermarkets and convenience stores, the independent bakery will enable more creative opportunities.

“We do have the freedom to, say, play with the doughnuts and try some new and different things,” she said.

Doughnuts have been making a resurgence in the industry, thanks to novel designs and flavors, Tim pointed out. In fact, sales have risen 52% in recent years.

“I’ll have to play with a few things; I have a few things in mind,” he said, keeping mum on what customers might expect. 

Meanwhile, plenty of suggestions are coming in from the public.

“I’m already getting messages,” Jill said. “Someone wants butterhorns with a cherry filling and somebody else wants croissants. There are a lot of different things we can play with, but it all depends on how many hours in a day we have and what demand drives.”

The bakery will make wedding cakes once a cake decorator is situated. But Tim said there also are other options for nuptials.

“I’ve done 20 weddings in the last two years and it’s been all cupcakes,” he said. “Cupcakes is the theme right now, with a little individual small cake for the bride and groom themselves.”

They are not only easier to make, store and serve, but also much less expensive than buying a big wedding cake, Tim explained.

“Most of your cakes, you get charged by the slice, $5 or $6. It adds up,” he said, adding that brownies and individual cheesecakes also are popular among brides and grooms … especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Papa Brunk’s will have a few tables and chairs on hand for customers to enjoy a pastry with coffee, milk, water or other beverages.

It also will offer a drive-through window and delivery, and plans to work with wholesale customers in the future. 

A website and Facebook page, as well as a suggestion box, also are on tap.

Family business

The Brunks hope to add up to three jobs to the local workforce upon opening. 

Tim, of course, will be the head baker, but he won’t be the only Brunk at Papa Brunk’s.

Jarrett, the couple’s youngest son, wants to learn the trade.

“He’s kind of like his grandma … a little of this and a little of that and it tastes great,” Jill said. “He wants to come work for us.”

Some retired family members also have indicated an interest in helping out. 

Jill, meanwhile, will be the bakery’s bookkeeper while retaining her job as a financial program supervisor for the Wisconsin Department of Corrections.

Jill grew up in Lake Mills and Tim, in Johnson Creek. They moved to Fort Atkinson in 1999 when she was working nights at the Highsmith Co. and wanted a shorter wee-hours commute.

She explained that the name Papa Brunk’s Bakery is a throwback to their three sons’ childhoods in Fort Atkinson.

“When our boys were playing sports here, we’d always take treats for their team, and also take treats for the opposing team, so a lot of kids from Fort grew up knowing that when you played the Brunks’ team, you’re getting treats tonight,” she recalled.

“They would refer to him as Papa Brunk, and now that we have grandchildren, they also call him papa.”

A little remodeling

The Brunks are leasing the 1,500-square-foot building in Fort Plaza. Fortunately, they said, it only needs a wall moved and paint.

“We’re hoping to open in mid-October if everything goes as planned,” Jill said, noting that a construction contractor is on standby while the city permitting and other approval processes are underway.

“We are still shopping for big equipment. We need the oven and a proofer, the bigger mixers. We have some equipment, but we still need the big production equipment,” she said.

Once open, Tim will start his morning at 2:30 a.m., so the smell of fresh baked goods will be ready to welcome customers three hours later.

Planned hours are 5:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 5:30 a.m. to noon on Saturday.

However, they could be expanded depending on demand.

“We are hoping to partner with some of the FFA kids, because we’re active in the FFA Alumni, and see if we can get some of those students to work for us in the afternoon after school. We’ll see where it goes,” Jill said.

Tim said he is looking forward to a five-day work week.

“For 25 years, he’s worked six days a week, so we feel that he needs another day off,” said Jill. “ However, I’m not sure it will even be a day off, because at home, he’ll be planning (pastries), putting in the supply order and doing a lot of odds and ends.”

Tim also is excited about being his own boss.

“I control what I do … I take orders and make customers happy. I know what’s going out of the door,” he said.

“If you please your customers, they’re going to come back. If you don’t take care of your customers, you won’t have any customers.”

Unexpected career

That’s something Tim learned from the very beginning of his baking career, when he got a job at the Fireside Dinner Theatre in Fort Atkinson in the mid-1990s. 

“He had been a mechanic and he hurt his back, and the doctor said ‘no more doing that,’” Jill recalled. “He always liked to bake at home and we said, ‘well, now what do we do?’ A friend of mine worked at Highsmith. Her husband was a baker at the Fireside and they were looking for help.”

Tim was assured there would be no problems concerning his physical restrictions due to his back injury, so he took the job and started what would become a second career.

After three years, he moved to the Pine Cone Restaurant, where he was for the past quarter-century.

“I went there for a part-time job and ended up being there 25 years,” Tim said. 

As head baker at the Pine Cone, Tim did all the ordering and end-of-month inventory and created new offerings for the case. He also took care of baked goods for the Pine Cone Travel Plaza, as well as Highway Harry’s restaurant across State Highway 26.

And he grew the Pine Cone’s baked goods in more ways than one.

“I started with one case, and now they have three full cases of products,” Tim said, citing eclairs, creampuffs and dinner rolls as being among the most popular items.

And then there’s the restaurant’s reputation for not only tasty, but extremely large, treats. 

Tim plans to continue the tradition of high quality at Papa Brunk’s.

“When we open, come and see us and taste-test what we have. We hope you will enjoy it,” he said.

“We’re just humble people trying to fulfill a dream,” Jill added.

City loan fund

Helping make that dream come true is the $15,000 loan that was presented on Monday. 

“The Catalyst Revolving Loan Fund can only do 30% of your project,” Jill said, adding that the Brunks will use it to get the needed equipment up and running.

The remainder of their start-up money is coming from a home equity loan. 

The purpose of the Capital Catalyst Revolving Loan Fund is to help stimulate the city’s economy. 

On Jan. 28, the Fort Atkinson Economic Development Commission approved a partnership with the Jefferson County Economic Development Consortium (JCEDC) to manage the revolving loan fund, which includes $600,000 in available monies.

The city stated in a news release that the program’s goal is to encourage the startup of new businesses and the expansion of existing businesses.

The focus is on assisting companies in industry sectors including, but not limited to advanced manufacturing, agriculture or food processing, information systems or software, medical devices, biosciences and energy. 

Activities assisted with program funds should address one or more of the following:

• Encourage new private investment in the City of Fort Atkinson.

• Support a diverse mix of employment opportunities and minimize seasonal or cyclical employment fluctuations.

• Encourage the development and use of modern technologies that increase productivity and efficiency.

• Support the elimination of blight and encourage urban redevelopment. Loans of up to $100,000 or 30% of total project costs are available through this fund, made possible by a grant from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation.

The team at the Jefferson County Economic Development Consortium works with applicants through the application and underwriting process. A Loan Review Committee reviews applications and make recommendations to the Economic Development Commission for approval.

More information on the application and loan guidelines is available at www.fortatkinsonwi.gov. Potential applicants may contact Deb Reinbold, interim executive director of the JCEDC at DReinbold@jeffersoncountywi.gov or (920) 674-8710.