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Bruegger's

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Bruegger's Enterprises, Inc.
Company typeSubsidiary
Founded1983 in Troy, New York
HeadquartersBurlington, Vermont, United States
Key people
Nordahl Brue, Founder
Michael Dressell, Founder
ProductsFast casual/Bakery-café, including several varieties of bagels and muffins, cold sandwiches, salads, and soups
RevenueIncrease$254.5 million USD (2010)
Number of employees
3,374 full/part time
ParentGroupe Le Duff
WebsiteBrueggers.com

Bruegger's Enterprises, Inc., and wholly owned subsidiary Threecaf Brands Canada, Inc., are franchisers and operators of Bruegger's bakery-cafés, Timothy's World Coffee, mmmuffins, and Michel's Baguette.

Bruegger's brand restaurants serve bagels, breads, coffee, specialty drinks, soups, salads, sandwiches, wraps, paninis, desserts, fresh fruit and a large variety of other related items.[1] They produce approximately 70 million bagels each year, and are the holders of the Guinness World Record for producing the world's largest bagel.[2] Bruegger's operates approximately 300 restaurants in 26 states, the District of Columbia, and Canada.

Corporate history

Bruegger's was founded in 1983 by Nordahl Brue and Mike Dressell, with the first store opening in Troy, New York.

The business was bought by Quality Dining (a franchisee) in June 1996 for $142 million in stock, with the founders joining the Quality Dining board. The merge was not a comfortable one; within a short period Brue and Dressell became concerned with the ongoing operations and scope for growth, leading to a critical U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing alleging a lack of strategic direction. Holding a combined 26% stake, Brue and Dressell called for reorganization of Quality Dining, resulting in Bruegger's being resold to Brue and Dressel in October 1997 for $45 million.[3] Brue has since referred to the original sale as part of his "biggest mistake".[4]

In May 2003, James J. Greco and Sun Capital Partners acquired the company from the founders.

Today, approximately 300 Bruegger's locations operate in 26 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and Canada. The company is headquartered in Burlington, Vermont. Bruegger's announced $200 million in revenue in 2008.

On November 13, 2009, Bruegger's purchased the retail operations of Timothy's World Coffee, mmmuffins, and Michel's Baguette through a wholly owned subsidiary called ThreeCaf Brands Canada, Inc.[5] Bruegger's intends to continue operations of all three brands. The three brands combined operate approximately 140 locations.[6]

On March 17, 2011, Groupe Le Duff of France announced the buyout of Bruegger's. Le Duff already has a U.S. presence with its La Madeleine brand, which has 60 units domestically. Le Duff plans to "Francify" some Bruegger's locations and will combine other units with Brioche Dorée outlets.[7] The first European Bruegger's opened in Rennes in 2013 (Paris and Toulouse in 2015).

In December 2011, James J. Greco announced he would be stepping down as CEO at the end of the year to pursue other opportunities.[7]

On August 24th, 2017 it was announced that Bruegger's owner Le Duff America announced that Caribou and its privately held owner JAB Holdings had agreed to buy the bagel chain. Terms of the deal, which is expected to close by the end of September, weren't disclosed.[8]

The original Bruegger's in Troy, New York.

Bruegger's offers bagels, coffee blends, specialty sandwiches, paninis, salads, carb-friendly wraps, deli style sandwiches, soups, desserts and original cream cheese in an assortment of flavors.

Bruegger's is best known for its best-selling product, a variety of authentic New York-style, water boiled bagels that are baked fresh and served hot. The bagels come in a variety of 17 different base flavors and in seasonal varieties. Many Bruegger's bakeries feature viewing areas where customers can see how the bagels are made.

World record

On August 27, 2004, Bruegger's created the World's Largest Bagel, which currently holds the Guinness World Record. The bagel weighed in at 868 pounds and required 1,100 pounds of dough, 900 gallons of water, and a bake time of 10 hours. It was cooked at the New York State Fair and was sliced and served to onlookers, who were encouraged to make a donation that would benefit local area food banks.[2]

See also

References

  1. ^ Bruegger's menu Archived May 28, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ a b "Business wire report on record bagel". Businesswire.com. August 27, 2004. Retrieved November 6, 2012.
  3. ^ "The bagel debacle". Thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved November 6, 2012.
  4. ^ "Nordahl Brue: My Biggest Mistake". Inc.com. March 1, 2000. Retrieved November 6, 2012.
  5. ^ Nation's Restaurant News [dead link]
  6. ^ Canadian Timothys Archived March 5, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ a b Hausmann, Daniel (March 18, 2011). "Sun Capital Gets 13x Return After Bruegger's Turnaround". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 21, 2011.
  8. ^ Dan DeBaun, "Caribou Coffee buys Bruegger's Bagels", 'Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal', August 24, 2017
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