Who Are We?

The Raterman Bread Haus & Bistro is a German style, 100% sourdough bakery that is expanding to open up a new store front and expanded fresh food menu! We started by producing long fermented, high quality sourdough breads to sell at local farmers markets and a small number of stores in the Ann Arbor, Dexter and Chelsea areas in southeast Michigan. Over time our product list has grown to include over 9 varieties of sourdoughs, stuffed sourdough bread twists and traditional Bavarian style soft pretzels. We have been baking in an incubator kitchen, the Washtenaw food hub, for the last several years and are making the transition to a larger facility in Dexter Michigan where we will be expanding our menu even further by making artisan pizzas, fresh sandwiches, seasonal soups and salads plus many more healthy, fresh food options. 

This transition has been a long time in the making and we hope that, with your help and support we can create amazing high quality dishes that any age and dietary restriction can enjoy! 

Our Local Impact

While there are many amazing drink and dining options in Dexter, we aim to add to the local food economy by working with several of our local farming partners to source meats, fruits, vegetables, grains, pasta and dairy. This will in turn provide a cyclical and closed loop impact on the local food chain supporting not only the owners of these businesses, but their employees and their families. 

Local, high quality food is our passion and the difference in this quality will be proven in our meals. 

What We Need & What You Get.

We have set our goal at $50,000 which will help us open with a bang and be able to provide for any person that will walk in our doors, 4 days a week. This is no small amount, but being an extremely small operation we have built ourselves independently for many years and with the help of our community will be able to provide so much more than we ever thought possible. 

We have done a lot of work doing a complete buildout of this space including a small custom dining area and new production space but we still have a way to go! We still need several pieces of large equipment including production tables, storage shelves, containers, assembly stations, additions to our dish washing space, quality serving ware and  much more to ensure that we are able to produce the quality and volume we expect from our position in the community.

We will be offering a combination of unique and exclusive merchandise items or a coupon for “Bistro Bucks” which are as good as cash in our new space.

Our exclusive merch items will include custom t-shirts, sweatshirts, mugs, stickers and reusable tote bags that can be reused in the bistro for a discount on all carryout items!

The funds will go directly towards all customer-driven items we need to operate, this means that any time you done in, or carry-out you will feel the impact of your support.

Other Ways You Can Help

Cant contribute right now? No problem!

You can help support us by spreading the news about the Bistro to people you know, and most importantly share the fundraising campaign with friends, neighbors or family in the area that are interested in enjoying fresh, local food here in southeast Michigan.