![]() Great Harvest is led today by President and CEO Mike Ferretti. Great Harvest became the nation's first whole grain bread franchise. Following this, a franchise office was established in 1983. In 1978, the second bakery opened near Kalispell, Montana, then Jacque Sanchez opened a third in Spokane, Washington, which is still in business. After graduation, they opened the first Great Harvest Company in Great Falls, Montana in 1976. In the late 1970s, Pete and Laura Wakeman, college students and founders of Great Harvest, set up a roadside stand and began baking fresh-ground whole wheat bread in Durham, Connecticut. There's not many people that do what we do.The Great Harvest Bread Company is a franchise in the United States that sells fresh-baked bread and other items. We feel bad that people say, 'where can I go?' And there's not a good answer to that. Other than that, we're in a fairly good spot. "We always thought we'd be able to turn it over to someone else. Mark, 65, said he's considering retirement, but also might do part-time process and problem-solving consulting work as a contractor for a New Jersey firm.Īinley, 54, has a background in chain supply management and might consider seeking an office job in the industry that wouldn't be as physically taxing, he said. "It's important to us, just as it was with our customer relationships." "Those are kind of rich relationships, too" Mark said. The couple also enjoyed relationships with their employees one had worked for Great Harvest for 14 years, another for eight years and several for five to six years. ![]() Our feedback when we were closing, people kind of told us, yeah, those are two things why they were there." And the bread's not as good, why would I go anywhere else?. "Because of that," he said, "we had people that are like, they don't want to go anywhere else, no one's going to treat me like they do. While most customers came from a 3- to 5-mile radius, he said, others from Pueblo or Buena Vista made a special point of stopping by if they were visiting Colorado Springs.Īs Great Harvest operators, Mark said he and Ainley set out to do two things: bake phenomenal bread and make a busy customer's visit to the store their best stop of the day. Regardless of location, Great Harvest Bread had a loyal following, he said. That location, however, effectively cannibalized sales from the Voyager store, which was closed in 2015, Mark said. That same year, they opened in the Union Town Center. Today, there are more than 200 Great Harvest franchises in the United States that serve baked goods, breakfast items, sandwiches and salads seven stores operate in the Denver area, Boulder, Fort Collins and Grand Junction, the Great Harvest website shows.Īnother Whataburger location eyed for Colorado Springsīut the Waldo Canyon fire in 2012, which destroyed nearly 350 northwest-side homes, led to a big drop in business for the Garden of the Gods location, Mark said. Add the water and stir with a firm spatula or wooden spoon until all flour is incorporated. Add the yeast, orange zest, cranberries, raisins and nuts. In a large bowl whisk together the flour and salt. Great Harvest Bread was founded in 1976 in Great Falls, Mont., according to its website. Add enough room temperature water to the soaking liquid to measure 1 cups. " The business was strong but no one would seem to be interested in it," he said. ![]() Though the pandemic caused an initial disruption, sales rebounded "very nicely" and business had been good, Mark said. But the market's kind of telling us that's not the case." We had always thought, 'we knew we would be done,' but we thought someone would continue with it. The buyer backed out, however, and they weren't able to find another one, he said.Īs a result, the couple closed Great Harvest on Sept. The couple had a deal with a prospective buyer early in 2020, before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mark said. THE GAZETTE FILEĪt the same time, the lease on their Union Town Center storefront was up for renewal, and Ainley and Mark would have needed to commit to another five years in the shopping center at a cost of possibly $500,000 in rent over that span, Mark said. The owners say they sought to sell the franchise, but couldn’t find a buyer. 2 in the north-side Union Town Center shopping center. The owners of Colorado Springs’ lone Great Harvest Bread Co. ![]()
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