| Usinger's | |
| Company type | Private |
| Founded | 1880 (1880) inMilwaukee,Wisconsin |
| Founder | Fred Usinger  |
| Website | usinger |
Fred Usinger, Inc., better known asUsinger's, is asausage-making company located in downtownMilwaukee,Wisconsin, on Old World Third Street within theOld World Third Street Historic District.
 | This sectionrelies largely or entirely on asingle source. Relevant discussion may be found on thetalk page. Please helpimprove this article byintroducing citations to additional sources. Find sources: "Usinger's" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(January 2020) |
Fred Usinger, an apprentice sausage maker fromWehen inGermany, immigrated toMilwaukee in the late 1870s. Usinger found work at a small butcher shop onThird Street owned by a Mrs. Julia Gaertner. After approximately a year, Usinger purchased Gartner's business and married her niece, Louise. The couple grew the business and, eventually, their sausage was being shipped nationally.[1]
A distribution center in theWalker's Point neighborhood was opened in 1994. During the 1990s, operational control passed to the fourth generation siblings, Fritz and Debra Usinger.[1]
.jpg)
Usinger's produces many kinds of sausages and meats, in many cases using traditional 19th-century recipes.[1]
Michael Bartlett's 1984 bookThe Book of Bests decreed, "If we were forced to pick just one 'great' hot dog we'd probably go with Usinger's of Milwaukee. Usinger's line of cold cuts reaches heights of quality and flavor rarely achieved in this country."[2] FormerNew York Timesfood writerMimi Sheraton wrote in 1973, "Now, the good news. If ever I decide to move to Milwaukee, it will be because of Usinger's..."[3]