Nino’s Bakery – A family affair

Even at 9 years old, Annmarie Baier knew what she wanted for a future career. One of five daughters, she started working in her father’s bakery more than 30 years ago, learning the ins and outs of the family business she manages today. What could inspire a 9-year-old kid to want to work in a bakery for the rest of her life? For Annmarie, inspiration came from her father.

“Instead of going out and playing with my friends, I would go to work with him, and I’d work with him every night… because I really wanted to be with him,” she said.

Baier recalls how her father stayed calm and collected even when occasional power outages plunged the family’s small Riverwest bakery into darkness and disarray.

“I remember the mixes were all over the place because there was no electricity, and he made it work,” said Baier. “It was his dedication, his passion for the bakery.” That dedication has paid off for the family-owned Nino’s Italian Bakery & Deli. Since moving to Menomonee Falls in 2000, Nino’s has become a beloved dining spot for the community.

However, Nino’s did not always have the loyal customer base it does today. Founder Nino Sgroi’s career started inauspiciously when he was hired to sweep floors in an industrial bakery in his early teens. He was fired when he returned to his native Sicily to marry Nina, who has since been his wife and business partner.

Nino returned to Wisconsin with Nina, determined to start a bakery of his own. The young couple soon purchased a Jewish Bakery in Madison in 1967 and continued to run it as a kosher bakery for several years until the University of Wisconsin Madison bought up their property to build a parking lot. The University paid for the Sgroi’s to buy a German Bakery in Riverwest (formerly located at 2473 N. Weil St.), where they stayed for thirty years.

During that time, Baier and her four sisters grew up and worked with their parents on weekends and during the summer. Unlike her sisters,though, Baier never considered doing anything else.

“We all had a part in [the bakery], but I think I was the one who really stuck it out with him,” she said. “My father gave me a choice: ‘you could either go to college or you could work at the bakery.’ So, I decided to work at the bakery…he’s taught me everything I know.”

Although Baier is the only sister that has stayed with the family business (where she is now the general manager), three of them have returned to work at Nino’s, all with a different set of skills to contribute. The Sgroi sisters combine their varying backgrounds to handle billing, catering and daily operations.

“My sisters have all gone to different schools, so we all have a different part of it,” she said. “We all really have a niche in something that we do.”

In 1997, after 30 years in Riverwest, the family decided to relocate to their current location at at N88 W16672 Main St. in Menomonee Falls. It took three years to prepare the new site, and in the meantime they kept the Riverwest bakery open for business, which was eventually sold and became Rauen Guitars and Repair in 2000.

With the move came challenges, though, and things weren’t especially easy for Nino’s after re-opening.

“It was like starting a whole new business,” said Baier, adding that it took some time to garner name recognition after moving to a new part of town. “Nobody really knew of Nino’s because we were on the east side; we were tucked away in a little corner.”

These days, it’s a different story. Nino’s has become renowned for its Sunday ham and hard rolls and Wednesday Spaghetti nights in winter, where Nino serenades customers with his accordion. The bakery also caters for private and public events  and hosts community fundraisers.

“Now that we’ve been here for 11 years I just think that the community tries to get involved with us too,” said Baier. “So if they’ve got events going on, people come to us… I think the community enjoys Nino’s being here…I love the neighborhood, I love my customers, and I love the job.”

“Love” is a word that is exchanged often between Nino’s and its customers.

“I love it; my grandchildren love it,” said one long-time customer who preferred to remain anonymous. “We come here on Sunday after church for hard rolls and doughnuts; it’s their favorite stop.”

Although Baier and her sisters have taken over the business, Nina still decorates most of the cookies and desserts and Nino still bakes the bread. Customers regularly come back for Nina’s Italian cookies and cannoli, made-to-order panini, subs and sandwiches. Baier highly recommends a loaf  of Italian bread, made by Nino himself.

“We make it fresh every morning, so, the bread I never get sick of,” said Baier. “I can eat bread every single day, that’s for sure.”

With a strong family bond and a passion for what they do, the Sgroi family has inspired a new generation of future bakers. One of their employees, Mattie Dorn, started when she was 13 years old, and eight years later she aspires to be a full-time cake decorator at Nino’s.

“They make [work] fun,” Dorn said of the Sgroi daughters. “They make it rewarding. It’s like a second family.”

Although the popular Wintertime Spaghetti Wednesday special has ended for the season, Nino’s now offers Tuesday and Thursday night specials with hours extended to 7 p.m., and will be opening an outdoor patio dining area. Nino’s serves lunch every other Friday afternoon throughout the summer during Menomonee Falls’ Concert in the Park series at Mill Pond Park. For more information, location and hours, click here.