#27 Kneaders Bakery & Cafe

   Kneaders Bakery & Cafe started cooking in 1997 with one Orem location and a whole lot of comfort. Fourteen years later, it has 10 Utah locations, two in Arizona, $16.8 million in sales and — you guessed it — a whole lot of comfort. “We’re in the business of making people feel like home,” says Colleen Worthington, who co-founded Kneaders with her husband, Gary. “Comfort is the biggest thing we sell.” And it’s the very ingredient that sets the local lunch legend apart. (Well, that and their Turkey Bacon Avocado on Focaccia. Yum.) These days, when Colleen drives down I-15 and sees Kneaders dotting the state, she can hardly believe how far they’ve come. “I had no idea we’d be here. It’s absolutely surreal.” But Gary knew it all along. “This is exactly what I pictured,” he says — which gives Colleen a laugh. “Really? Well, I’m glad one of us had a vision.”

Gary and I owned nine Subway sandwich stores. But we were tired, so we decided to sell them and retire. 

We got bored — fast. So we thought, “Let’s do something.” We owned a piece of property in Orem, and we really wanted to sell amazing bread we baked everyday. After doing our research, we decided Europeans have the best bread in the world. 

We opened Dec. 2, 1997. We have a lot of customers today who were our customers the first week we opened. We sold bread, pastries and cinnamon rolls, but we started listening to what the customers had to say. And they wanted sandwiches.

We had signed a non-compete agreement that said we wouldn’t make sandwiches. But we went to them and said, “How much do we need to pay to get out of this agreement?” They gave us a price, we paid it, and here we are.

The majority of our sales are in the sandwiches — and it’s because of the bread. It’s so fresh and good. But fresh isn’t easy. If it was, everyone would do it. 

Kneaders is a family business, and that’s always been the plan. On the day we opened, everyone was here. I even had James, who was still in high school, come in and help me decide what radio station the store should play. I told him, “Find something you like and I like.” Thankfully, he liked ’60s music. 

Because it’s a family business, it’s hard for us to not talk about Kneaders when we’re at home. It’s who we are. But during Thanksgiving dinner we try not to talk about it. That’s the day!

Gary and I come from homes of people who worked. When we were at Subway, our kids worked right along side us. Hard work is what it’s all about. 

Growing this fast is great — and scary. We have a new plan every year as far as the volumes we go through. We never do it the same way twice. The key to handling that growth is flexibility. There will be hiccups. There will be problems. But if you are able to adapt quickly and efficiently, you’ll be in a great position. 

Two years ago, we partnered with a development agency — Four Foods Group — and they’ve handled most of our expansion. Andrew Smith is a mover and a shaker, that’s for sure. And we feel so fortunate to have this partnership with them. 

A really great thing for us is to employ 700 people. That amazes me. It’s the nicest thing to see all of these great young people working hard. I think of Candice at our front register. Is there anyone more adorable and friendly than her? But that’s why we’re lucky. Our employees have pride in Kneaders. In fact, a quarter of our franchisees were employees at one time. They’ve grown up with us. 

What we love about entrepreneurship is you’re in charge of your own destiny. If times get really hard, Gary can be in the back baking and I can be at the front counter. We can always pull together and make things work.

We’re situated in a really great place. When times are really good, people who typically eat fast food eat at Kneaders. And when times are bad, people who eat at high-end restaurants eat at Kneaders. Sometimes being the middle child isn’t so bad.