Charles strite toaster biography of abraham

Loop Back: World’s First Pop-Up Toaster

Frustrated that his workplace cafeteria in Stillwater kept serving him burned toast because the staff had been distracted and let the bread heat too long, Charles Strite went to work on a solution in 1919, inventing a new toast-making appliance that wouldn’t have to be watched by anyone.

The device would not only warm the bread on both sides at the same time, it would automatically turn off the heat and eject the toast when it was ready.

He called his revolutionary invention the “Toastmaster,” and it was first produced in the North Loop.

With his patent awarded in 1921, Strite teamed up with two Twin Cities investors, Glen Waters and Harold Genter, to start producing the Toastmasters specifically for restaurants, hotels and coffee shops.

These early versions toasted as many as eight slices at a time.

The company’s first production facility was on North 2nd Street near Hennepin in a build