How Power City Bakery shaped Sioux Falls: Looking back

The Power City Bakery opened at 211 S. Main on Oct. 15, 1910. Its proprietors were Frank R. Kelley and Sidney O. Drew. Over time, the two would build their client base and reputation until their bakery was the biggest in the state, at least for a while.

In September 1909, the Sioux Falls Commercial Club, basically the chamber of commerce of its day, decided that Sioux Falls should be known as the Power City. It perhaps seemed more impressive than the Queen City, a moniker that, up to that point, had been in use. From this sprang Power City Drug Store and Power City Repair, among many others.

It’s unclear where Drew and Kelley learned to bake the breads, pies, and other confections that made them popular, but their connection to each other was through Frank’s sister, Edith. Edith and Sidney married on Sept. 28, 1901. Sidney and Edith were fairly popular performers in local theater, and Frank, two years younger than Edith, had been a well-known ticket taker at the city’s premier venue, The New Theatre.

By 1915, Power City Bakery was outgrowing its little storefront on Main, and the wholesale side of the business was taking off like gangbusters. It was time to move to a larger space. Drew and Kelley sealed a deal with east-side developer Edward Johnson on June, 19, 1915. Johnson quickly began work on the building and it was enclosed and ready for the oven builder by September. The new building, which measured 42 by 75 feet, was ready for operation by Nov. 10, 1915. Local baker Ed Dow purchased the old Power City Bakery after it was vacated.

By 1921, an expansion was needed to address the growing demand for the Soo Maid and Kelley brands of bread the Power City Bakery produced. The building was expanded along its north side to 90 feet. After the expansion, the bakery was able to produce more loaves of bread and pies than ever before. A Fish brand oven, which was obtained as part of the expansion, could hold 160 pies at once, and bake them all in 20 minutes. In addition, two Helm ovens were able to produce 10,000 loaves of bread in an eight-hour shift, 400 at a time. With the help of four delivery trucks, the Power City Bakery could supply stores within a 100-mile radius.

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By late 1925, another expansion was necessary. Edward Johnson was again in charge, but this time as a partner. The new partnership was a good opportunity to change the name of the business. The city had long-since stopped using the Power City epithet to describe itself. Mid-West Bakery was the new business.

In 1927, Frank Kelley bought one of Ed Dow’s old bakeries at 303 1/2 S. Phillips and named it The Patty Ann Bakery, for his young daughter. It’s possible that the Mid-West Bakery was sold at this time and renamed Sioux Falls Baking Company. Soon after, Sidney Drew and his wife moved to Marshall, Minnesota.

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In September 1929, the Pfaff Baking Company announced its intention to establish a modern baking plant in Sioux Falls. Pfaff purchased Sioux Falls Baking Company and began renovations with the help of architects Perkins and McWayne, designers of the YMCA building. Pfaff owned and operated bakeries in Mason City and Fort Dodge, Iowa. This plant would operate independently from the others, as a South Dakota entity. With the change of ownership came a change in product. Pfaff offered Betsy Ross brand bread as its brand ID. This new product was to be manufactured with all-new equipment, which was installed after the remodel was complete.

On Feb. 29, 1930, the new plant was opened to the public. Pfaff was proud of its new bakery and wanted to show anyone who cared to show up. Workers, drivers, merchants, their families, and others who would work most closely with the bakery were invited to a special tour in advance of the public reveal. Pfaff went on to produce its product for the next six years, at which point the bakery was sold to the Metz Brothers of Sioux City.

Metz had begun operations in Sioux City in 1922. After years of improvements and growth, the purchase of Pfaff Bakery marked the company’s first expansion. Betsy Ross bread continued to be produced at the bakery, but Metz’s very own Old Home brand was added to the mix. Metz continued its growth, opening a plant in Watertown in 1948. In 1952, the company opened a 90,000 square foot plant near 10th and Cleveland, which many will remember as the Old Home Bakery. The old bakery at 8th and Fairfax would continue to be used, but for purposes unrelated to the baking industry.

In the late 1980s, I lived on the east side, not too far from The Pocket. On good days, one could smell the fresh baked bread being produced by Metz. The best days were when you couldn’t also catch a whiff of Morrell’s.