Entenmann’s isn’t just a bakery brand, it’s a Long Island institution. For generations, those blue-and-white boxes have been stacked in kitchen cabinets, brought to family parties, and quietly claimed as “homemade” desserts more times than anyone wants to admit.
What began as a small Brooklyn bakery in the 19th century eventually became a national brand, a Bay Shore landmark, and one of the most recognizable names in American baked goods. If you lived anywhere near Bay Shore, you didn’t need a map to find the factory — you could smell it.
Here are some of the craziest and most delicious facts about Long Island’s own Entenmann’s Bakery.
CRAZY FACTS ABOUT ENTENMANN’S
• William Entenmann opened his first bakery in Brooklyn in 1898
• The bakery’s earliest products were delivered by horse and carriage
• Home delivery was a major part of Entenmann’s business in its early years
• On a doctor’s advice, William Entenmann relocated the bakery to Bay Shore after his son, William Jr., contracted rheumatic fever
• That move helped cement Entenmann’s deep connection to Long Island
• Until the 1950s, Entenmann’s produced bread and rolls in addition to cakes and pastries
• In 1951, William Entenmann Jr. died of a heart attack
• After his death, his three sons, Charles, Robert, and William, ran the business alongside their mother, Martha Entenmann
• During the 1950s, the company shifted from home delivery to supermarket sales
• Frank Sinatra reportedly called the Bay Shore bakery every week in the 1950s to place an order for crumb coffee cake
• Martha Entenmann invented the iconic see-through cake box in 1959
• The clear box allowed customers to see the baked goods inside and significantly boosted sales
• In a commercial, Yogi Berra once said his favorite Entenmann’s product was the chocolate chip cookie
• Entenmann’s has released branded scented candles
• There is an official Entenmann’s cookbook
• The brand has also sold Entenmann’s coffee
• Wealthy customers were known to pass off Entenmann’s desserts as their own homemade creations
• Entenmann’s went public in 1976
• The company’s stock certificates featured an image of Martha Entenmann
• In 1978, the Entenmann family sold the company to Warner-Lambert for $233 million
• Warner-Lambert was best known as a pharmaceutical company
• In 1982, Entenmann’s was sold again, this time to General Foods for $315 million
• In 1985, General Foods was acquired by Philip Morris, making Entenmann’s part of Kraft Foods
• Today, Entenmann’s is owned by Bimbo Bakeries USA
• The iconic Entenmann’s factory in Bay Shore officially shut down in 2014
• After selling the bakery business, Robert Entenmann transformed a Long Island potato farm into a vineyard in 1995
• The winery was named Martha Clara Vineyards in honor of his mother
• Entenmann’s once had its own float in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
• A 1975 article reported that New Yorkers were buying more than 1.25 million Entenmann’s cakes every single week
• Entenmann’s has baked more than 780 million donuts, enough to wrap around the Earth approximately 2.5 times
• More than 190 million pounds of apples have been used to make Entenmann’s apple pies
• Since 1898, more than 700 million All Butter Loaf Cakes have been baked
• If lined up end to end, those loaf cakes could take you to the moon and back
• The Rich Frosted Chocolate Dipped Donut has been Entenmann’s top-selling item since its introduction in 1972
• Entenmann’s began baking its chocolate chip cookie in 1974
• Since then, the company has sold more than 620 million chocolate chip cookies
Few brands are as tightly woven into Long Island life as Entenmann’s. Even without the Bay Shore factory, those blue boxes still carry more than baked goods, they carry a century of local history, family legacy, and a whole lot of sugar.
Photos: Entenmann’s Facebook page.
