Kingston, NY

In 1960, Uwe and Ingrid Deising immigrated to America from the same town in Germany. Growing up only a few blocks from one another, the two never knew each other, until coming to America. Living in Long Island, Uwe and Ingrid met on a double date with friends. Coincidentally they had not been one another’s date at the time.

“And the rest is history,” Eric Deising, son of Uwe and Ingrid, told us.

Uwe knew of the upstate area through a German friend he’d made in culinary school, visiting for German festivals and other various reasons. He had spent some time in the Army, but his true passion had always been baking. In Germany, he had been the youngest person to ever to become a Master Baker. When he moved to America he got another Master Baker certification, becoming one of the few people in the world who was double certified.

In 1965 the couple saw a listing for a bakery on Broadway in Kingston called Ketterer’s. Uwe had always dreamed of having his own store where he could showcase his talents. The rural beauty of the Hudson Valley reminded Ingrid and Uwe of Germany and they knew this was going to be their new home.

When the couple moved to Kingston there were something like 10 bakeries in the area but within five or six years, about half of them had gone out of business. Five years after this, there were only two bakeries standing strong in Kingston. Another 10 years later, their bakery had become so successful they began to outgrow their original space. Looking to expand, the two found an old Goodyear tire repair center on the other side of Kingston. Being much larger than Ketterer’s, this space could give them the opportunity to really scale their operation, although the thought was an exciting one, they wanted to play it safe just in case the new business didn’t work out. They decided to name the new bakery, Deising’s Bakery and Konditorie, this way they would always have Ketterer’s to fall back on.

Five years following this they officially changed Ketterer’s name to Deising’s Midtown, declaring the success of their new venture. But it had not yet become the Deising’s that exists today. With a degree in business, Ingrid was happy to be able to build up two businesses with her husband, but what she had always wanted was a café. They tested out making soups and sandwiches with fresh bread from the bakery with nothing but a small countertop space to serve, not so surprisingly, the café was a hit, and their next expansion was underway. The bar next door had gone up for sale, so they took the opportunity to turn their small café into a full restaurant. On the other side of the bar, there had been a laundry mat, in hopes of keeping out any competition, they bought this building as well, turning it into two catering rooms. What started as the purchasing of one business they weren’t even sure could succeed evolved into the purchasing of three more, all of which still stand strong more than fifty years later.

About thirty-five years after they opened Ketterer’s, Uwe and Ingrid finally retired from the bakery business. While they spend their winters in Florida, Eric, Norman, Peter Jr., and Petula Deising are filling Christmas cookie orders, continuing to run the show, and quite a show it is. The bakery has won a handful of bakery awards over the years including “Best Retail Bakery in America” by Modern Baking Magazine. Known for their “old world style”, Deising’s imports many of their ingredients from Europe to authentically create the styles and flavors of their parents’ first home.

There is no disputing that Deising’s does it all. Their uptown location is where all the action is, consisting of at least 400 varieties of bread, bagels, rolls, pastries, pies, cakes, cookies, and other desserts, all baked fresh daily. With a bit less of a selection, their Midtown location is their satellite store which is much more popular for breakfast on the go. As well as serving breakfast and lunch with daily specials, Deising’s does wholesale, catering, and cake decorating.

To put the icing on the cake, Deising’s makes an incredible effort to donate to many of the organizations within their community, such as local schools and soup kitchens, Chiz’s Heart Street, Ulster County Community Action Program, People’s Place, and many more. Although Deising’s officially closes at 5:30, 6:00pm most days, the bustle never stops, with more bakers coming in at 7:00 pm to begin prepping for those arriving around 12 am, there is always something cooking, and if you happen to walk by around 5 am you might just catch a whiff of the freshly baked bagels.

CONTACT:

Phone: (845) 338 – 7505 (Uptown)
(845) 338 – 1580 (Midtown)
Click Here to visit the Deising’s Website
Location: (Uptown) 111 North Front Street Kingston, NY 12401
(Midtown) 584 Broadway Kingston, NY 12401