The Schwan Man was a pretty big deal in my neighborhood, but I never could have imagined it had this impact on a national scale?! And to think, all these years I thought this was an exclusive business to a small, river town in Indiana. I was compelled to click on the banner ad to see if it the modern day version of the company is as amazing as I remembered. My mouth, of course, watering as the web page began to load with thoughts of chocolate chip cookies and cordon bleu delights filling my head (coincidentally, I had not yet had lunch).
And there it was....in all its glory. Schwan's has not only revamped its image, but it has evolved so well over the years! Admittedly, I was a little discouraged with some of the aesthetic changes that had been made, so I knew immediately I would need to investigate further. Sure, everything looks amazing and they seem to have established themselves as a little more "high end" of a brand than I remember, but still. I needed to ensure that the integrity of Schwan's still shines through in its modern day practices.
I have to admit, aside from the clear expansion of their menu items, the best practices still seem to be in place. Everything I remembered was there: chicken cordon bleu and chicken kiev, check; corn dogs, check; orange push-ups (which are now referred to as push 'ems - I am sorry, I do not approve of this change), check; chocolate fudge sundae ice cream cups, check; chicken pot pie, check; cheddar bacon potato skins (I always took it upon myself to remove all of the bacon while they were still frozen, how little I knew about the deliciousness of food at a young age...), check; frozen pretzels, check; individual deep dish pizzas, check; what I deem to be the "original" ice cream sandwich, check; and probably the most important item on the menu, chocolate chip cookies, check.
It should be noted that I was unable to confirm the packaging situation for the modern day chocolate chip cookies, but in my day, the cookies were almost never consumed after they had been baked - you see, I chose to eat them in the form of cookie dough prior. They came packaged in a giant box with layer upon layer of pre-rolled cookie dough balls - perfection. That box seemed endless, and the cookies were literally ready to be placed on an oven sheet for baking. I remember my dad telling me I would make myself sick if I consumed the cookies prior to baking, and, of course, there was that warning on the box itself, but I knew better. They were totally lying. My stomach held up just fine as I snuck into the outside freezer day after day and slowly made all of the cookie dough in the never ending box disappear. Sorry, I am not sorry.
Again, I feel the need to reiterate that Schwan's really seems to be holding up well against the test of time. On some level, I feel a sense of pride in this company's longevity. For so many years, my family contributed to their success and here they are with hundreds of menu items on top of celebrating 60 years of prosperity. For those reasons, I feel obligated to note a few things I think should go back to the way they were - since I sort of made the company what it is today and all:
- The uniform - The updated uniform consists of a red polo and khakis. I would like to revert back to the old uniform that looked more like a maintenance man or mechanic. Remember, the light blue tops with the navy blue pants or shorts (depending on the weather conditions)?
- The logo - well, see for yourself below (left: new, right: old). Call me old fashioned, but I vote old!
- The truck - seems to be more of a honey mustard color rather than the original post-it note yellow it used to be, but it is tough to say. I am indifferent on this point.
All in all, it has come along quite nicely. I was unable to confirm the exact ordering situation for the modern day Schwan Man, but my only hope is that it continues to be done door to door with this old school beeping machine as opposed to an ipad. That thing was magnificent and I always wanted one. Funny thing, I have never wanted to move out of the city until I re-discovered the existence of this fine operation today. Turns out, life in the suburbs may not be that bad, after all! Small victories....
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