In just 18 months, Kristin Lambrecht has gone from making wedding cakes at home to running a rapidly growing startup business that includes catering, retail and wholesale bakery, grab-and-go foods, ice cream, beverages, souvenirs and even minigolf.
“I kind of had this slow and steady thought in my mind of how I was going to grow my business, and it just keeps taking off and I’m hanging on for dear life,” Lambrecht says.
Lambrecht started a home bakery business in October 2023 as Kristin’s Kitchen Bakery. Growing up she had always loved baking, a skill she learned from her grandmother whose recipe cards she still owns.
As the business grew, Lambrecht hoped to find a location for the business in Wild Rose, a village of 792 in Waushara County, and ended up landing alongside Roseville Ice Cream. It required her to obtain licenses and permits, to remodel and to build a commercial kitchen.
Lambrecht also enrolled in an E-Seed Entrepreneurship class at Fox Valley Technical College. It’s where she learned about the New North Pitch Contest, which she entered and placed third in December.
In February 2024, Kristin’s Kitchen Bakery opened its retail location. There Lambrecht offers made-from-scratch baked goods primarily as a retailer, but does wholesale some products in three Waushara County businesses. Ties to local event venues keeps the wedding cake business growing.
At the end of the 2024 season, the owner of Roseville Ice Cream retired and sold the building. The new owner asked Lambrecht if she wanted to make use of the rest of the building. That is how she found herself operating a bakery, ice cream shop, souvenir/gift shop and, next season, a minigolf course.
“My goal is to create a gathering space that community, friends, family, locals, tourists — everybody would just love to gather here and have a lot of fun and make a lot of memories,” she says.
