ACE Bakery is a maker of European-style, artisan breads and baked goods. The company, based in Toronto, has some 35 varieties of bread. [1] According to Toronto Life, ACE Bakery's bread is preservative free and from natural starters. [1] In addition to other products, including a line of granola [1] and artisan crisps, [2] marketed across Canada and parts of the United States. [3] Along with breads, ACE Bakery also makes par-baked or partially baked, flash-frozen dough. [4] Founded by a Caledon, Ontario husband and wife, the company is today owned by FGF Brands. [5]
In 1982, Martin Connell, a business executive, [6] began baking baguettes, as an early-morning weekend hobby, in the kitchen of his home near Caledon, Ontario. [4] Connell and spouse Linda Haynes, a former television producer, [7] continued to experiment with bread-making techniques and eventually built a small "bakehouse" on the property. They also began visiting bakeries in North America and Europe, as they considered the possibility of starting their own business. [4]
Connell and Haynes opened ACE Bakery at 548 King Street West, downtown Toronto, in March 1993. Located in a former handbag factory, [8] the bakery cafe was initially a 100-loaf-a-day operation. [9] From inception, the couple pledged that a portion of all after-tax profits would be directed to Calmeadow, a charitable foundation in support of micro-financing they had established a decade earlier. [8] By 1996, ACE Bakery sales had reached approximately $4 million. [10] A year later, the business was moved to a larger, 23,000-square-foot facility in North York, which was eventually doubled in size. [4]
In 2001, ACE Bakery introduced a line of frozen dough, a process in which the bread was 85 percent baked and then flash frozen. [11] The new product was sold to in-store bakeries and restaurants in Ontario, parts of New York and Michigan, as well as resorts in the Bahamas. [4]
In terms of marketing and promotions, Haynes published "The ACE Bakery Cookbook: Recipes for and with Bread," [12] in 2003, which became a bestseller. [13] It was followed three years later by a second book, entitled "More from ACE Bakery." [14]
By 2008, the company's annual sales approached $50 million and were growing at a double-digit rate. [4] That year, Connell and Haynes, along with Canadian investors Birch Hill Equity Partners, sold ACE Bakery to Glencoe Capital, a Chicago-based private equity firm. [15] Three years later, ACE was acquired by Weston Foods Canada Inc., a subsidiary of George Weston Limited, for $110 million. [16]
The company announced plans to construct a bakery in the United States in 2012. The facility, located in Cherokee County, South Carolina, cost $18.4 million. [17] Five years later, the company invested $31.9 million to expand its operations in Cherokee County. [18]
ACE Bakery is a maker of European-style, artisan breads and baked goods. The company, based in Toronto, has some 35 varieties of bread. [1] According to Toronto Life, ACE Bakery's bread is preservative free and from natural starters. [1] In addition to other products, including a line of granola [1] and artisan crisps, [2] marketed across Canada and parts of the United States. [3] Along with breads, ACE Bakery also makes par-baked or partially baked, flash-frozen dough. [4] Founded by a Caledon, Ontario husband and wife, the company is today owned by FGF Brands. [5]
In 1982, Martin Connell, a business executive, [6] began baking baguettes, as an early-morning weekend hobby, in the kitchen of his home near Caledon, Ontario. [4] Connell and spouse Linda Haynes, a former television producer, [7] continued to experiment with bread-making techniques and eventually built a small "bakehouse" on the property. They also began visiting bakeries in North America and Europe, as they considered the possibility of starting their own business. [4]
Connell and Haynes opened ACE Bakery at 548 King Street West, downtown Toronto, in March 1993. Located in a former handbag factory, [8] the bakery cafe was initially a 100-loaf-a-day operation. [9] From inception, the couple pledged that a portion of all after-tax profits would be directed to Calmeadow, a charitable foundation in support of micro-financing they had established a decade earlier. [8] By 1996, ACE Bakery sales had reached approximately $4 million. [10] A year later, the business was moved to a larger, 23,000-square-foot facility in North York, which was eventually doubled in size. [4]
In 2001, ACE Bakery introduced a line of frozen dough, a process in which the bread was 85 percent baked and then flash frozen. [11] The new product was sold to in-store bakeries and restaurants in Ontario, parts of New York and Michigan, as well as resorts in the Bahamas. [4]
In terms of marketing and promotions, Haynes published "The ACE Bakery Cookbook: Recipes for and with Bread," [12] in 2003, which became a bestseller. [13] It was followed three years later by a second book, entitled "More from ACE Bakery." [14]
By 2008, the company's annual sales approached $50 million and were growing at a double-digit rate. [4] That year, Connell and Haynes, along with Canadian investors Birch Hill Equity Partners, sold ACE Bakery to Glencoe Capital, a Chicago-based private equity firm. [15] Three years later, ACE was acquired by Weston Foods Canada Inc., a subsidiary of George Weston Limited, for $110 million. [16]
The company announced plans to construct a bakery in the United States in 2012. The facility, located in Cherokee County, South Carolina, cost $18.4 million. [17] Five years later, the company invested $31.9 million to expand its operations in Cherokee County. [18]