Our Business Showcase this week is
Kroll's East. Check them out HERE!
Kroll's History
For over 75 years Kroll's East has had the honor of serving customers from all walks of life
and all parts of the country. Kroll’s was established by Harry and Caroline Kroll, who sold the business to Harry’s sister and her husband, Isabel Kroll Schauer and Dick Schauer. For more info and trivia on Kroll's East! On November 14, 1945, the doors were opened under the new ownership. Since the very beginning the mission of Kroll’s East has been to serve quality food at affordable prices. To achieve this, the hamburgers were made on the premises and still are today, now using high quality Black Angus beef. Originally serving just burgers, hot dogs, brats and french fries, the menu
expanded with the addition of chili and then vegetable soup and dumpling soup. Isabel was a great cook, and in the late 1940’s, she developed the soup and chili recipes that are still used today. Then in 1969, Dick and Isabel’s son, Jim, joined the family business. Sadly, Dick Schauer died in January of 1972, and at that time, Jim began taking over a lot of the day to day operations including beginning a major remodeling project in 1974. The bar area was enlarged and completely renovated, except for the back bar area, which still includes the original green tile and mirrors that were imported from Italy. In addition, the original black, red and yellow tiles can still be found on the outside of the building by the Irene Street entrance; this tile pattern was originally throughout the building.
In the 1980s, Jim’s wife, Bette, began working at Kroll's East, and they are now very proud to have been joined by their daughter, Jenny, and sons, Ben and Nathan. A side-note of pride is Ben’s service with the 308th Civil Affairs Brigade, where he serves as a Lt. Colonel and has served two tours of duty in Iraq, and one tour of duty in Afghanistan.
Kroll’s East Trivia
- The basement of the building was dug out by horses.
- Originally heated by coal burning furnace, the “cover” for the coal chute can still be seen by the Irene Street entrance.
Since the beginning, our sandwiches have been served on a toasted semmel roll. - Kroll’s East is located in what was once the town of Preble, before Preble was annexed to Green Bay; there was nothing but fields on the North side of the restaurant.
- At one time, in the 1950’s, the back parking lot contained seven cabins that were used seasonally; the only heat came from kerosene portable heaters. The most famous guest who stayed in the cabins was Bob Mann, the first black player for the Packers (who at that time played at City Stadium by East High School). Jim remembers playing “catch” with him and his dog.
- In 1945, a hamburger cost 10 cents; by 1962 it was already up to 26 cents—but that included sales tax!
- Homemade is pretty much a standard at Kroll's East including the following: hamburgers, our tenderized steak, chili, dumpling soup, vegetable soup, bean soup, pea soup, tuna salad, chicken salad, egg salad, and our famous onion rings. In addition, our Lake perch and Baby Walleye are dipped and then hand-breaded with our own special ingredients.
- In 2010, Kroll's East was named an Historic Site by the city of Green Bay.
- We don’t do any shipping, but our hamburgers, cheeseburgers, and chili have been shipped or taken by customers not only throughout the continental United States, but also to Hawaii, Alaska, and Canada.
- In February of 2008, then Presidential candidate Barack Obama made a campaign stop at Kroll's East and enjoyed our onion rings.
