NEWARK, CA — In a ribbon cutting ceremony celebrating the reopening of its refurbished facility, the Otis Spunkmeyer team and executives from its parent company, Aspire Bakeries, announced the facility has 100% vaccination and zero safety incidents since its startup in September.
“I’m so proud to say we are 100% vaccinated at this bakery,” said Tyson Yu, CEO of Aspire Bakeries. “It’s a huge milestone for the health and safety of our employees. We have powered through some difficult times across all our bakeries, and Newark is one of them.”
The Newark location consolidated the original Otis Spunkmeyer plant in San Leandro, CA, but had to halt operation in 2020 due to foodservice shutdowns and worker safety concerns directly related to COVID-19. All employees were furloughed without any layoffs.
“We supported our people the whole time,” said Jody Holder, VP of bakery operations for Aspire Bakeries. “We were able to reinstate employees who were ready for the bakery to start operating.”
When Newark restarted operations, it reached 100% vaccination status without a formal mandate.
“It’s been a challenging couple of years, but we believe with the reopening of Newark, we will not only emerge stronger, but we are also moving boldly toward the future with Aspire Bakeries,” Yu said. “The strong roots of Otis Spunkmeyer have always been — and will remain — right here in California.”
The revitalized plant received capital investments for equipment installations and upgrades, a redesigned open-concept office space, and future renovations to its R&D lab. The 92,000 sq-ft. facility currently operates a frozen cookie dough line and houses two lines for baked scones and baked desserts that will start up in the coming months.
“It’s been a challenging couple of years, but we believe with the reopening of Newark, we will not only emerge stronger, but we are also moving boldly toward the future with Aspire Bakeries,” said Tyson Yu, CEO of Aspire Bakeries.
The Otis Spunkmeyer brand has been a prominent member of the East Bay community for more than four decades. The brand’s founder, Ken Rawlings, opened a retail store in Oakland in the late ‘70s before expanding into foodservice and becoming a nationally known brand.
“Today, Aspire Bakeries has been able to expand the Otis Spunkmeyer brand across all 50 states, in Canada and internationally,” Yu said. “We will continue to be a pillar in the East Bay community as we support the brand and our foodservice and retail customers through this facility.”
Dignitaries at the event included Newark Mayor Alan Nagy, city manager David Benoun, police chief Gina Anderson and acting fire division chief Randall West, as well as several city council members.
The bakery reestablished 50 jobs with plans to add approximately 100 more over the coming months and into 2022.
Learn more about Aspire Bakeries’ innovation for all its brands in the June issue of Commercial Baking.
