Michigan Bread completes acquisition of Franklin Street Bakery, launches The Good Bread Co.

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Michigan Bread completes acquisition of Franklin Street Bakery, launches The Good Bread Co.

21 Sep 2021

Joanie Spencer

Since 2008, Joanie Spencer has covered the retail and wholesale sides of the baking industry.
Serving associations such as the American Society of Baking (ASB) and BEMA, Joanie is also in demand as an industry presenter on bakery operations and trends. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communication from Rockhurst University and a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri.

When she’s not running or playing soccer, Joanie spends her time with her husband and 11-year-old son.

MINNEAPOLIS — Sunbelt Business Advisors announced the sale of Minneapolis-based Franklin Street Bakery to Taylor, MI-based Michigan Bread. The deal closed on Sept. 1.

Led by merger and acquisition advisors Kirill Graminschi and Dan Mulvaney, the Sunbelt team initiated, structured and negotiated the transaction.

The previous owners of Franklin Street Bakery started baking in the kitchen of one of their restaurants and officially launched the business in 1994. Before the sale, approximately 125 people worked at Franklin Street Bakery, and all have been retained in the transaction. They join 175 employees of Michigan Bread, which has been in business since 1973.

The combined organizations will be rebranded as The Good Bread Co., starting with the Minneapolis bakery, with Michigan Bread’s rebrand to follow next year. Pat Siebenaler, who has been at Franklin Street Bakery since 2006 and currently serves as director of operations, will oversee the plant in Minneapolis.

“Franklin Street Bakery has a reputation for high-quality, better-for-you breads and rolls serving the restaurant and foodservice industry, following the same traditional baking processes as Michigan Bread,” said Spiros Assimacopoulos, Michigan Bread president and CEO. “The alignment of baking philosophy, customer base and core competencies presented an extraordinary opportunity for the two organizations to grow rapidly by capitalizing on existing shared resources.”

“The integrated company will immediately benefit from increased capacity, production optimization and a market expansion,” he continued.

Michigan Bread’s growth in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to several capital investments including new oven technology at the Taylor location, where the bakery produces artisan breads for foodservice through broadline distribution as well as branded products for retail, which will take on The Good Bread Co. brand immediately.

“Franklin Street Bakery has a reputation for high-quality, better-for-you breads and rolls serving the restaurant and food service industry, following the same traditional baking processes as Michigan Bread,” said Spiros Assimacopoulos, Michigan Bread president and CEO.

“The collective talent from both teams will accelerate our evolution to becoming a world-class organization,” Assimacopoulos said. “Both teams are growth-oriented and share a culture of hard work, accountability and pride that is essential for any bakery to thrive.”

More details on the bakeries and acquisition can be seen in the October issue of Commercial Baking.

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