Zehnder’s of Frankenmuth, along South Main Street in Frankenmuth, sits across the street from the Frankenmuth Bavarian Inn. Both eateries are famous for their chicken dinners in Frankenmuth, one of Michigan’s top tourist attractions. Michigan head football coach Jim Harbaugh is a Zehnder’s of Frankenmuth man when it comes to chicken dinners, according to Michigan fullback Nick Volk, a Frankenmuth High School 2014 graduate.
By Tom Gilchrist
Sports Editor
ANN ARBOR — University of Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh has made it clear he loves Frankenmuth chicken dinners, tweeting March 4 that Frankenmuth offers “the best chicken you’ll ever eat.”
But Michigan fullback Nick Volk — a 2014 graduate of Frankenmuth High School in Saginaw County — provided specifics on Harbaugh’s tastes following the April 4 spring game at Michigan Stadium.
A Tuscola County Advertiser reporter asked Volk whether Harbaugh prefers chicken dinners from the Frankenmuth Bavarian Inn or from Zehnder’s of Frankenmuth, the two venerable eateries in the heart of Frankenmuth, known as Michigan’s “Little Bavaria” and one of the state’s top tourist attractions.
“He said ‘Zehnder’s,’” Volk said. “The first thing he said when he met me and I said where I was from, he said ‘Zehnder’s, man, they’ve got the best chicken in the world.’ I said ‘Of course. Yeah.’”
Harbaugh attended high school in Ann Arbor when his father, Jack, was an assistant football coach at Michigan. He later played quarterback at Michigan and in the NFL before becoming a college coach and then a professional coach, leading the San Francisco 49ers to the 2013 Super Bowl.
Volk said he met with Harbaugh after the new coach arrived in Ann Arbor.
The coach hailed Volk on Twitter, stating “Happy 19th Birthday to UofM Fullback Nick Volk from The Great Michigan town of Frankenmuth, also known for the Best Chicken you’ll ever eat”.