The past week brought big changes for Wild Flour Bakery, 1205 Milwaukee Ave. in South Milwaukee. After producing high-quality artisan breads and baked goods for nearly 28 years under the oversight of owner Dolly Mertens, the bakery will start a new chapter as a sister brand to Shorewood's beloved French boulangerie.

On Monday, Jan. 15, Wild Flour owners Dolly and Greg Mertens legally turned over their longtime bakery brand to Gene Webb, owner of North Shore Boulangerie, the French bakery at 4401 N. Oakland Ave. in Shorewood.

The business transaction makes Webb the owner of the Wild Flour name, equipment, business assets and recipes. In addition, Webb has offered to retain all current Wild Flour employees and will lease the South Milwaukee production bakery, which is still owned – at least for now – by the Mertens.

But the transaction wasn’t purely business for Dolly Mertens, who says the decision to sell Wild Flour Bakery to Webb was a matter of trust and mutual admiration.

“I couldn’t be more excited,” notes Mertens. “Gene taking over the business is like a blessing from heaven. He has a passion for the baking business and a true appreciation for Wild Flour. Our customers are thrilled and – even more so – our employees are happy… and it was so important to us that they could be with someone who made them feel safe and valued and happy.” 

Webb says he’s thrilled to have come upon the opportunity to take over such a well-established reputable brand.

“I’ve been contemplating expanding the North Shore Boulangerie business for years,” he says. “There are entire market sectors that we can’t serve, largely due to our focus on French products. At Thanksgiving, people want pies, not tarts. For the Fourth of July, they want hot dog buns…”

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At first, he says, he hoped that the Boulangerie’s Mequon location might present an opportunity to launch an American bakery brand. But due to a variety of factors, including delays in the progress of the Foxtown development, he says he was hesitant to take the risk. In fact, he made the recent decision to dissolve his lease agreement in Mequon, with the hope of pursuing another avenue for expansion.

When his lead baker, Benjamin Haas – who’d gotten his start working for Wild Flour Bakery – told him that the South Milwaukee bakery was for sale, Webb found his opportunity: the South Side production bakery was large enough to accommodate North Shore Boulangerie’s needs and the opportunity to purchase an established brand focused on American baked goods that would allow him to meet the market’s demand for items like cookies, muffins and more.

“Everything came together,” he says. “The facilities provide what we need. The brand is high quality. And there is so little overlap in what we produce. Our product lines complement one another so well.”

Webb says he’s also excited to be involved in the next chapter for Wild Flour Bakery.

“It’s very important to me that the Wild Flour brand remains,” he says. “I’m dedicated to making Wild Flour products with the original recipes. There’s a legacy here, and it’s a valuable one. I want to see it flourish.”

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The Wild Flour Legacy

Dolly Mertens grew up on a farm in rural Wisconsin. Her family was large; she was one of 14 children. And it was working alongside her mother that she learned the art and craft of breadmaking.

When she opened her first bakery in New Berlin in 1996, she named it in homage to her mother who not only baked eight to 12 loaves of bread every single day but  “raised all of us wild kids and always grew wildflowers on the farm.” 

Despite naysayers, who didn’t believe there was a market for Mertens’ handmade artisan bread (including variations like sesame semolina, cranberry walnut and jalapeño cheese) Wild Flour Bakery grew.  It was a family business operated with help from Merten’s husband, Greg and their sons Josh and Jay. Even Mertens’ granddaughters eventually helped out at local farmers markets, including the New Berlin, Brookfield, Cathedral Square and South Shore Markets where Wild Flour has maintained a presence for nearly three decades.

 As years passed and wholesale business expanded, Wild Flour outgrew its New Berlin location, so the Mertens purchased a building at the corner of South 28th and West Lincoln Avenue. At Wild Flour’s peak, Mertens operated six bakeries throughout the Metro Milwaukee area, including locations in Bay View, Downtown Milwaukee, South Milwaukee and East Troy.  

By and by, things changed. Mertens scaled back. Her son Josh, who had helped out with the business for over 20 years, stepped away to spend more time with his wife, Alayna, and their family. After a partnership with Stephen Blanchard of Stephen’s Breads, which Mertens hoped would result in the sale of the Wild Flour Business, fell through, she says she realized that her time operating the bakery was coming to an end.

“I knew it was time,” she says. “When I didn’t feel like the level of energy I could lend to the business was the same.” 

“A great part of the gratification from running the business came from people,” says Mertens. “I don’t collect things, but I love to collect people. And through this work, I’ve met so many people. I still keep in contact with employees who worked for us years ago. And we’ve had the opportunity to be a part of people’s lives, sometimes from the very beginning to the end… 

“I’ve been very lucky,” she says. “My husband has stuck by me through so much. When we first started, he delivered bread to Sendik’s in his suit on his way to work. I’ve had the pleasure of working closely with my son. There have been sacrifices along the way but I have no regrets.”

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Webb admits there’s a certain level of trepidation in taking on a brand like Wild Flour, which is well-known and respected in the community; but he says he couldn’t be happier to have inherited a brand with such integrity.

“This isn’t about marketing,” he says. “Wild Flour has a place in the community. It’s a beloved brand. And there’s something about being entrusted with a business as wonderful as Wild Flour that makes it an honor to carry it on. So, my main goal is to work hard to ensure that it continues.”

Mertens nods in appreciation.

“Operating Wild Flour has been fun,” says Mertens. “But knowing that Gene is the new owner makes this feel like such a blessing. Now I want to be here to support Gene. I want to come back in the summer and work at markets. I want to be able to support his business as so many of our loyal customers have supported us.”