By Pat Doody
Kohnen's to celebrate National Bakery Day, Sept. 27
Kohnen's Country Bakery
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Hey Tehachapi! You may not know it but Sept. 27 is National Bakery Day and Kohnen’s Bakery wants to celebrate it with you. On that day only, Kohnen’s Bakery will be offering a “Buy One, Get One Half Off” in honor of the day. There will be a limit of one discount per customer. Come in and claim your discount between the hours of 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. at Tehachapi’s premier bakery located at 125 W. Tehachapi Blvd. Ste. D.
Fifteen years ago, Colleen and Thomas Kohnen opened the German bakery on Tehachapi Blvd. and have never looked back. When they first arrived in Tehachapi they were advised to open their bakery at Tucker and Hwy. 202 but City Manager Jason Caudle disagreed saying, “Go downtown, that is what makes Tehachapi special.” He was right. Colleen said she loved the East Coast charm of the town and as soon as she saw the drawings of the building with the elevated deck, she knew she had found a home for her bakery. Their unique sign was developed using a $5,000 City Redevelopment Grant. Colleen said that in Germany, every trade has an emblem and the sign of a bakery is two lions and a pretzel. Look closely at Kohnen’s sign and you will see that emblem incorporated into it.
Their first January and February were slow but then business picked up. Colleen knew she had made it when, during the first year, a customer came in and said that he had learned about Kohnen’s from an article he read in a Portland, Ore. newspaper mentioning the great bakery in Tehachapi.
Colleen’s original plan was to keep the bakery small and simple but it soon became obvious that dining space was needed. Eventually Kohnen’s expanded into the adjacent space and ultimately solved that problem.
The entire family now works in the bakery, so it is truly family run. Thomas has always been the baker. He started baking at the age of 15 and spent three years studying in Germany where bakeries pride themselves in being unique, unlike grocery store bakeries here. Their daughter Briana also works in the baking area and son Devin works in the front of the store.
Colleen said that while 30 percent of her business comes from visitors traveling on Hwy. 58, she knows that catering to her local customers is her number one priority. So, make sure you go by Kohnen’s on Sept. 27 and take advantage of Kohnen’s National Bakery Day special.
