Encyclopedia Dubuque
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
BOLDT'S
BOLDT'S. Established around 1880 as a bakery, the company quickly proved profitable. The bakery produced a variety of fancy candies and cakes for parties and dinners.
In 1894 the company featured a farm display in its front window complete with a nest of eggs and a duck. (1)
In 1905 Boldt's had one of the earliest soda fountains in Dubuque and sold real Swiss chocolate. (2) In 1910 ice cream and "ices" were made to order. The business area within one hundred miles of the city stretching into Illinois and Wisconsin generated enough orders to keep twenty bakers and candy makers busy year-round.
In addition to the wholesale business, Boldt's did an active retail trade in Dubuque with four delivery wagons and group of clerks who had no other responsibility than to fill orders.
In February 1910, the company announced that it would be opening a cafe on the premises to serve lunches and regular dinners.
The 1904-1905 through 1916-1917 Dubuque and Dubuque County Directory stated that this business was located at 872 Main.
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Source:
1. "Municipal Molecules," Dubuque Daily Herald, March 25, 1894, p. 4
2. Gomoll, Rob. "When a Sundae Was More than Dessert," Tri-State Over 49 News & Views, May 1993, p. 1
"Boldt Company's Ice Cream and Confections Are an Ad for Dubuque," Telegraph Herald, February 18, 1910, p. 1