'It's the greatest privilege in the world to have some of these people I know, who made in their families sausages for three generations, who come in here and tell me, 'This is as good as I can do it. 'These are people who are doing things with recipes that have been passed down from generation to generation,' Ken Molitor said. The immigrant tradition is a point of pride for many in North Dakota-it is a land where one's German or Ukrainian or Russian roots are still felt and celebrated. I think people today are looking for something that is distinct and feels traditional from the past and is not (homogenized).' 'Old recipes from other places (are) a part of the American definition, because each country that's come has brought with (their traditions). 'The whole definition of American is all about coming from different areas,' Kristina Molitor said. I stand behind these products.'Īmericana, a fusion of old traditions in a new world, is an important element of what Molitor thinks gives the Wurst Shop its zest. 'A lot of it is about Americana, what we sell, but it's also a very very good product. They were a free-spirited people, a strong-willed people, who'd do what it takes to make it,' Molitor said. made these sausages on their farms and in their homes. 'These people come in, most of them are older, second or third generation. The Molitors and their six children all work in the Wurst Shop, preparing high-quality sausages, meats, cuts of ribeye and ground beef according to traditions and recipes that have been passed through generations of North Dakotans. He's participated in every aspect of the North Dakotan lifestyle. He has a farm just west of New England and worked for 20 years in the Oil Patch. Molitor is a third-generation North Dakotan. It also reflects the resiliency of these people.' The recipes came out of the old country, out of Germany,' said Ken Molitor, seated in the back office of the Wurst Shop, tucked away just a few feet from its enormous kitchens where sausage is still trimmed by hand while state-of-the-art smokers cook meat a room away.

'For the older generation, this is their food.

The modest German kitchen is a point of pride for a community, a celebration of this region's heritage, and for current owners Ken and Kristina Molitor it represents the greatest part of the American Dream. The Wurst Shop in Dickinson proves that there's no taste like home.

Wurst shop