The Miller’s are descended from a man named Jacob Hostetler who immigrated to America in 1738. His family was from the Schwarzenburg area of Switzerland and later moved to Alsace, France because of religious persecution from both Catholic and Reformed state churches. The Swiss Brethren, of whom Jacob’s father was a part of, sought to restore the biblical church which they understood to practice adult believer’s baptism and non-violence as taught by Christ.

In 1987, the Miller’s moved out of VA into TN as part of a church plant. They chose Belvidere because of the availability of beautiful farm land. Coincidentally, they discovered the area’s rich Swiss heritage included many of the same work ethics and tight knit community that the Miller’s as Mennonites in VA had also experienced. There was even a similarity in language between the Swiss German spoken by the older ones in the community and the Miller’s PA Dutch language. We felt very much at home in our little village of Belvidere, living among common Mennonite names such as Leichty, Zimmerman, Zauggs and others. When the time came that we opened our bakery, we knew it needed to have a name that reflected both our heritage as well as the heritage of the local people, hence you have the Swiss Pantry! And now you have the rest of the story!