Grebe’s Bakery at the Wisconsin State Fair

The Wisconsin State Fair has been a fixture in Wisconsin for almost 170 years.

The first-ever Wisconsin State Fair was held in 1851 in Janesville. According to the Wisconsin Historical Society, “It was sponsored by the State Agricultural Society to showcase the state’s advances in agricultural machinery and products, (and) attended by about 10,000 people.” West Allis has been the permanent home of the beloved Fair since 1892.

Over the years, attractions have been added to draw larger crowds, including “fire company competitions, horse races, sideshows and brass bands, to auto and motorcycle races, aeronautics shows, demolition derbies, politicians and TV/movie celebrities, Alice in Dairyland and, of course, food and amusement rides. Today the fair is a huge eleven-day event with an attendance of nearly one million, a far cry from its modest beginnings.”

Grebe’s has been a part of the Wisconsin State Fair since 1968.  That’s more than 50 years of serving beer & bakery to several generations of Fairgoers. People love the entertainment and the attractions and the competitions, but we believe it’s the food that really makes the Fair. In fact, in 2018 there were more than 80 new foods, including everything from bug-related bites to sweet, savory, and spicy options to just-about-anything-you-can-imagine on-a-stick.

And we’re not even sure if it’s possible to talk about the Fair without thinking of the iconic Original Cream Puff, a Fair staple since 1924. It “is the most popular food item among Fairgoers – an average of 400,000 are consumed each year!” We’ll just have to wait and see whether there will be insect jerky and ants-on-a-stick again in 2019.