It
all began back in the 1970s. Our founders, Pete and Laura Wakeman, were
just a couple of college kids trying to earn some summer spending
money. They set up a small roadside stand in their hometown of Durham,
Conn., and began baking fresh-ground whole-wheat bread.
After graduating from
college, Pete & Laura's travels took them through the heart of
Montana's legendary wheat country. Their fate was sealed. In 1976, the
couple opened the first Great Harvest Bread Co. in Great Falls,
Montana. They sold out of bread—all twelve
loaves—on their first day. Business grew and a loyal
following of bread fans was born.
Word spread fast. Soon
neighbors were wondering how they could go about starting up their own
Great Harvest. The next bakery opened in nearby Kalispell in 1978. Then
Jacque Sanchez, in Spokane, Washington, opened the third (and is still
going strong more than twenty years later!).
The franchise office
was founded in Dillon in 1983, and the original Great Falls bakery sold
to Pete Rysted (who still owns it today). Slowly and organically, Great
Harvest began to grow into the nation's first family of whole grain
bread bakeries.
Twenty-five years
later, the torch was passed to President & CEO Mike Ferretti
and five other partners. Mike's been passionate about preserving the
Great Harvest philosophy, and he's championed a new focus on the
franchisee. Since 2001, more programs to both build and protect our
owners' businesses have hit the scene.
With Ferretti at the
helm, the first Franchise Agreement Board was formed. This has allowed
an elected board of bakery owners to approve all future changes to the
franchise agreement. Big strides have been made in other areas, too.
Bakeries across the country are now implementing an all-new signature
sandwich and panini program. Others are introducing full service coffee
and espresso bars, thanks to a new partnership with a specialty
California coffee roaster. And we've developed an innovative hard crust
bread program, featuring a unique line of whole grain hard crust breads.
Looking into the
future, we'll bet there's one thing history won't ever change: our
mission. We'll always be loose and have fun, bake phenomenal bread, run
fast to help customers, create strong exciting bakeries, and give
generously to others.
“We’re a new, old-fashioned bakery specializing in whole-wheat breads & making the community a better place. Each loaf is handcrafted from scratch using our own stone ground whole wheat flour.”
We first fell in love with Great Harvest Breads in Wayne, PA where Jane and Pat’s daughter went to college. When she graduated the idea of opening a Great Harvest Bread Co. blossomed. We loved the idea of being a family run, community based bakery. The foundation is to create a phenomenal product, be part of the community, to give generously and to have fun. We signed with Great Harvest in 2002, and trekked to Dillion Montana in January of 2003 for training. It took 3 years to bring our dream into reality but we preserved and here we are. The “sisters”, Jane and Chris, are in the store daily, Jane’s husband Pat is in the store every Saturday and keeps our bottom line in check, and our children, Mike, Christopher and Hannah also work regularly in the store as well. You may even see another sister or other family member at any given time. We are blessed with a fabulous extended Great Harvest family that works hard to help us create a vital, outstanding bakery.