Robert Ledder brought a family history in the hospitality industry to some well-known Minnesota eateries.
Ledder, a former director of food services at the University of Minnesota and a restaurant chef at Dayton's department store, died of Alzheimer's disease on April 2 in Bloomington. The longtime Edina resident was 81.
Ledder grew up in Rochester, Minn., where his father was the director of food service at the Kahler Hotel. His grandfather had owned a pub near Liverpool, England.
Ledder first worked in the restaurant business as a dishwasher when he was 14. He served as a Navy officer during World War II, and by 1948, had graduated from Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration in Ithaca, N.Y. From 1948 to 1952, he worked for the old Stouffer's restaurant chain, based in Cleveland, and helped the firm enter the frozen-food business, said his son, Dr. Charles Ledder of Edina.
He returned to Rochester to work at the Kahler Hotel, replacing his father, who retired.
In 1959, Ledder moved to the Twin Cities to operate Dayton's restaurants. Eight years later, he became director of food services at the University of Minnesota.
"I want to have exciting areas for the students where they can exchange views," he told the Minneapolis Tribune in 1968.
Ledder brought innovations to the university, adding short-order items and a cafe-like atmosphere to university dining halls. "Swiss steak may be on its way out," he said in 1968.
