I first experienced Great Harvest bread as a customer when the company opened its little test bakery in Dillon, MT
in the summer of 1988. When a job in customer service opened up, it was a no-brainer to apply because I already loved the whole grain products. Within a few years, I became a Field person and began traveling to all of our bakeries. Last week marked my 22nd anniversary with the company.
After covering almost 700,000 miles and visiting over 190 Great Harvest bakeries (most of them multiple times), I’m even more intrigued by this freedom-oriented, individually-owned, fresh whole-grain, neighborhood bakery concept that’s grown steadily over the past three decades. Watching the evolution from 20 stores to over 200 has been like an anthropological study. The franchise office has its own history and changing culture. Join that with all the individual characteristics of each bakery and owner, and you get a wonderful network of unique personalities and rich character.
Great Harvest has always been people-focused. This focus ranges from hiring people to work at the franchise office to approving new owners as franchisees. The most important criteria for both is that applicants are a good fit for the business. Sometimes they’re thrown by the question “If you were a car what would you be?” I think I surprised the interview panel when I replied black with Corvette Stingray. Trust me, looks can be deceiving.
Great Harvesters are really all a family, and like any family there are some that might be labeled a little “odd”, but that’s part of the fun. We all share a passion for great food and baked products we’ve made from scratch and a love for serving these delicious products up to people. The Great Harvest owners are hands-on. They relate to their employees and customers in a friendly atmosphere they’re created. It doesn’t get much better than that. At the Franchise office, we have the same “hands-on” approach to helping the bakery owners (our customers.)
Unlike the average franchise, no two Great Harvests are the same. I’ve been struck by how each store reflects the personalities of its owners, and often it’s through their crew. Their bakeries become a wonderful expression of their individuality. With customer expectation of what “franchise” means, this individual expression has its challenges. The stores are definitely not “cookie cutter”, but the whole freedom factor is a big attraction. How many opportunities are there for having support systems and a learning community… yet in the end you get to call the shots and create your own business?
Someday I’ll write a book with all the Great Harvest stories…for 
now I’ll suffice it to say it’s been a fun ride with a lot of wonderful friends. One of my college Profs told me I had an aptitude for applied cultural anthropology and I should consider a career in that field. When I step back and look at my career at Great Harvest, it seems to me that’s what I’ve done! What a fun and generous group of people to hang out with for all these years.
How about your organization? What would a cultural anthropologist say about you?
