Issue date: 4/4/07 Section: Features

Media Credit: Alex Reside /?Daily Vidette Staff

Media Credit: Alex Reside /?Daily Vidette Staff

In an era when McDonald's has so saturated the nation, it is almost impossible to find any new eateries where employees refer to customers as " regulars."

But Great Harvest Bread Company of Bloomington has carved out a unique niche in the food industry with its interesting method of franchising.

Their method has given them an intimate tie to the community, while at the same time baking bread that will be ingrained into the palette's memory of all things delicious.

"We own this place," Anita Ashley said.

Along with her husband Rick, Anita has been with Great Harvest for seven years.

"What Great Harvest does is called a 'freedom franchise.' So for a year they train us, teach us how to make the bread, how to run the store, but after a year we're in charge and we could flip burgers for all they care."

Great Harvest's "freedom franchise" method sends out bread pilgrims to various states where they find their own Great Harvest.

People who may never have been in the bakery business before start their very own Great Harvest and then get to dole out delicious bread daily.

The first impression the bakery leaves on customers is a feeling of a tight knit entrepreneur-customer community: the mom and pop feel.

The key to creating the mom and pop environment is that the eatery is as much about producing a good product as it is making sure the customers are satisfied.

"I really like that we know our customers," Monica Stevens, a five-year employee, said. "If someone is having a wedding or anything in their lives, they come and tell us about it. At a lot of other places it's about selling the products, being the store and not caring about the people."

Rick Ashley arrives at the store at 4 a.m. to work the in-house mill and oven and bakes all of the day's bread everyday.

All the bread-works are right upfront to be seen by the customers, who arrive in a constant stream.

Each day, five different types of bread are made and each day of the week brings a different set of flavors. Each month new varieties are put in while some are taken out. But the two mainstays of Great Harvest are honey whole white and harvest white, which can be purchased every day.

"Honey whole white is our most popular bread," Anita said.

For the month of April some holiday-themed breads will be available such as honey bunnies and baby bunnies, as well as hot cross buns to bring the flavors of the holidays right onto a plate.

All Great Harvest patrons are welcomed with an irresistible offer for a sample slice, which they can take and munch on while they select their loaf of choice.

There were plenty more examples of this bread benevolence in the store. For example, those who have enjoyed 12 loaves from the store are awarded their thirteenth free. Kids were able to draw a snowman and then hand in their picture for a free giant cookie.

Business folk can also drop their business cards into a basket for a weekly drawing. The winning card's office receives a free gift basket full of bread, a honey bear, cookies and a breadboard and knife.

This all goes back to the fact that this company believes in what it is doing, a value that has been lost upon the fast food nation.

Some company mottos have a tendency to be tacky but the maxims written on Great Harvest's walls are easily apparent in the staff's conduct.

The wall says, "Be loose and have fun; run fast and help customers; bake phenomenal bread; give generously to others."

These laws would make for a less-than-stellar modus operandi if Great Harvest did not consistently prove them true.

Proof comes every night after the store closes when all extra bread is given away to various donations organization in the Twin City area.

Also during the summer, Great Harvest gives away bread to various camps in the area. The kids most certainly do not mind judging by the "thank you" collages on the walls of the store.

The store is lined with bread supplements like jams, honeys and knives and for me one of the most pleasant sights in the store was the sight of local products on the shelves.

Products like Just Beans and honey from the Amber Bee Company Honey, both reasonably priced, does much to elevate reverence for what the Ashleys are doing with their share of the harvest.

The story also carries mustard from Robert Rothschild, bread dipping sauce and dipping oil, Fidough's Dog biscuits, cookbooks, tie-dye shirts for "Breadheads" and much more than could ever fit in a paragraph. Most importantly, Great Harvest's loaves themselves cost between $4 and $6.

A company is doing something right when customers are coming in and greeting the owners by their first names.

It does not require a graduate from Hamburger University to realize that attitudes like the one of friendship at Great Harvest are dying out.

The solution is that fans of quality service and products need to put their money where their mouth is and support local businesses.

A sense of commitment is evident in Great Harvest's employees. Stevens has so enjoyed her time at Bloomington's Great Harvest that although she is moving, she is taking Great Harvest with her.

"I'm getting married in June and then going to Chicago but I applied to a Great Harvest there because I like it so much here. It won't be the same, but I love the idea of working somewhere I actually like," she said.

Great Harvest Bread Company is located at 1704 Eastland Drive, which is directly south of Eastland Mall. They can be reached at (309)-662-8500.

The Ashleys also have a Web site for their store at hometown.aol.com/greatharvestblm/ and the corporate web site for Great Harvest is greatharvest.com.

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