People Of Germack
Frank and Suzanne
Frank Germack and Suzanne Germack Frederickson are the owners of Germack, as you might guess by their names! They are the third generation of Germack owners, with a combined fourth generation of five girls on deck! Both spent their early years at the factory, and have adapted the company to changing trends. They use this knowledge, along with the Germack team’s creativity and dedication, to source and roast nuts from around the world.
Suzanne’s passion for art and design has led to the development of new nut and snack mixes. Suzanne is a University of Michigan fan, and rarely misses a home football game. Suzanne loves Supino’s pizza in Eastern Market, and her favorite Germack item is Cherry Berry Nut mix.
Frank’s love of coffee led to the addition of the roasted coffee line. In fact, Germack pistachios are roasted on coffee roasters for their precise small batch capabilities. Frank was born in Detroit, and while he has lived as far away as Denmark the Motor City has always called him back. He is an avid music fan, and loves racquet sports. He’s a regular at Zeff’s in Eastern Market, and loves seeing Germack nuts every time he visits Detroit sports stadiums. You can catch him eating his favorite snack - signature roasted Mixed Nuts.
Wally
Wally is Germack Pistachio’s Plant Manager. He has been working at the company for over 30 years now. As a Detroit native, he is a loyal fan of Detroit sports and loves to attend Lion’s and Tiger’s games. He can sometimes be found at the local bowling alley, knocking down pins, or soaking up the summer sun by taking his boat out.Since he loves to cook, especially foods from his Polish roots, you can trust him as a man of excellent taste when he recommends Germack’s I-75 blend coffee.
Lori
Lori, the Director of Sales and Marketing, is a Detroit area native and loves to see how the city is revitalizing. After 23 years at Germack, her job covers a lot of ground including: sales and marketing management, generating new business, advertising, and design direction. Every now and then, when she gets away from the hustle and bustle of work, she has a special place in her heart for the chance to pick up a pencil and paper, and draw. We are thankful to have her sharp intuition and hard work taking care of so much behind the scenes.
Try Lori’s favorite Germack snack of the moment - Maple Bacon & Cheese Pub Mix
Edyta
Edyta is Retail Director of Germack’s storefronts and cafe. Not everyone who comes into the store gets a chance to meet her. She runs the behind the scenes, day to day aspects of the cafe and both stores, like scheduling, making sure all the money is in the right place at the right time, handling the website and online orders, and more. She moved to the Detroit area from Gdansk, Poland almost 17 years ago. For nearly 14 of those years, she’s been working for the Germacks in different branches of the company and different roles. When hanging out in Detroit, she likes to visit the riverfront and Belle Isle. Edyta spends time away from work with her husband and two sons. Together, they travel often, to Poland, to ski in the mountains, to bask in the Mexican sunlight, and more. She also loves to bowl, read, and watch movies.Be like Edyta today by partaking in her drink choice - an orange grove vanilla tea.
Steven
Steven, Germack’s Director of Coffee, has been at Germack six years, starting as a barista and working his way into his position as head honcho of caffeine. His ever increasing list of credits includes sourcing, green buying, roasting, sales, cafe management, and more! Germack Coffee couldn’t exist in its full form without him. He is fresh off a trip to Guatemala and Honduras where he was visiting small coffee farms and co-ops like TG Labs, tasting coffees and looking for players in Germack’s future line-ups!His cosmic hobbies include wandering, alternative aerobics, and cardboard topiary—which is to say that he’s a performance artist and musician in an “exploratory synth punk” Detroit based band, the Imaginatron. His favorite drink at the moment is the Kenya pour over.
Don
A lifelong Michigander, Don graduated from Western Michigan University with a B.B.A. in Food Marketing and has over 15 years of experience in the food retail industry. Depending on the day of the week, Don has many different responsibilities including: account sales, product marketing, purchasing, and inventory management. He’s also our “mixologist” and is always thinking about the next savory mix to create – his latest is his best yet, Poolside Party Mix!
Proud to work for a family owned and Detroit born company like Germack, Don is passionate about growing the brand not only here in Michigan but also across the country. He knows that Germack’s product quality is vastly superior to the competition and the commitment we bring to our customers is unmatched.
Don is married to his high school sweetheart and they stay busy raising their two sons. They enjoy traveling to warm weather destinations where they can put their feet in the sand and relax.