We grew up eating English muffins
Not everyday but every once in a while
Big, thick, chewy English muffins
full of "nooks and crannies"
Which filled with the melted butter
Which sometimes oozed down your chin.
And the muffins all came from this store
Wolferman's
A Kansas City grocery store
Downtown
And on the Plaza
The muffins were very tall and always packed four
to a package!
Never six like other muffins
But crumb for crumb, those four were equal to the six of most other brands!
Besides the muffins, they made cookies and breads
And the downtown store had the
Tiffin Room
where a mother would take a little girl for lunch
But only if she behaved herself.
All things come to pass
And one by one, the supermarkets saw the demise of Wolferman's
But the muffins
Those English muffins were popular
And so the factory that made them stayed in business
and shipped the muffins to stores and doors.
And there was a retail shop
A Seconds shop
We'd go there often and stock up.
Then it was sold
Then it was sold again to Williams Chili Seasoning
(Another Kansas City Company)
And the Seconds Shop continued to operate
Then they were sold again
I think to Sara Lee
And Sara Lee sold them to
Harry and David
When Sara Lee bought the muffin brand,
the Retail Shop closed
We could find them occasionally in stores in Kansas City
(And actually for a while, we could find them here on the prairie!)
But there is always mail order
And I would order them
For I will not eat any other muffin!
Absolutely! Never!
When a catalogue arrived in the post,
I decided to place an order
And they came! A much wanted box on the front porch!
Inside --
Six packages of delicious muffin goodness
The original brand
I'm a purist and won't eat any other kind
No blueberry, no cinnamon for me!
In the old days, when they were priced 3 packages for $1
This would have been $2 worth
Not so now!
Tomorrow, I shall enjoy an English muffin for breakfast
And hopefully, the butter won't drip down my chin!
And I think that I shall make a regular order
To always have Wolferman muffins in the house!
11 comments:
Thank you Martha! I loved the pictures of the old stores. Now a Wolferman's English muffin with butter oozing and orange marmalade-- that is truly living!
Enjoy!
Oh, Francie it is -- it is! You remember too! For a while Sam's had them as a "private" label but looking at them you could tell that they were Wolferman's!
You're right...nothing else compares to Wolferman's. My favorite way is toasted with homemade lemon curd on one half, and Nutella on the other. Oh my, what a treat!
I made the outlet store on the frontage road along I-35 a regular stop when in Kansas City until they took that away from me, too. :( My all time favorite was the sunflower seed (now discontinued) with crunchy bits, toasted, with butter and marmalade. And I too order once in a while. There's nothing else like them.
That's lovely! So glad that you're still able to find your special muffins. Many years ago the (now defunct) Frederick & Nelson dept. store in Seattle carried a candy called "Frangos." Everybody loved them - chocolate covered and available in many different flavors: with mint, with orange, with strawberry, etc. When Frederick's closed, people raised a huge hue and cry. Then the Bon Marche picked up the order. When the Bon went the way of the passenger pigeon, Macy's picked up the slack, so we can still buy Frangos - though usually only at Christmas. But even a once a yar treat is better than losing something so wonderful entirely. Enjoy your muffins -- with a nice hot cup of tea, nothing tastes better. Happy Easter!
Oh that's funny Martha, you got your muffins! I enjoyed hearing the history of the store(s).
Have a great week as you savor each English muffin. :)
Gina
Aren't we spoiled?! We miss the outlet, but several of the grocery stores in KC carry them.
For those who order online, if you don't see a discount offer on the website, check RetailMeNot.com for coupon codes.
Oh my goodness! That post took me back to my childhood when a trip to Kansas City was a cultural event! The Plaza was the height of sophistication and I couldn't wait to rub the brass boar's nose. Thanks for a trip down memory lane. : )
You made my mouth water, Martha. That was a really interesting story about the store.
I had never heard of them, but will look it up online.
You've made us all long for a thick and chewy muffin oozing with butter! Would you put strawberry jam on yours as well? I can just imagine how delicious this would be with a good strong cup of English or Irish Breakfast Tea!
I've never heard of them, but I can't wait to get my package in the mail!
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