I survived the whole wheat bread panic of 1996. I’m quite proud of that. It happened in Rockford, Illinois, at the opening of a new Great Harvest Bread Co. My friend Paul and I were the opening trainers from the home office. I was a “seasoned” 5 year employee and Paul was the fastest kneader I’d seen, plus he could fix anything and knew how to make great bread. We were sent to help Steve and Barb Kaiser train their new bakery employees and open the doors of their brand new business.
Steve had quit his solid, respectable job as a banker to open a 
bakery – I think his dad thought he was crazy. Steve’s dad, Harold, was retired, so he agreed to help for two weeks, even though he was skeptical that a bakery without donuts was a viable business model. (Six years later, he was still there giving free slices and chatting up customers.) Barb had left her job as a medical technologist and they were excited about the opening, but understandably nervous when we arrived. We helped get all the supplies and systems in place and did some training with their crew for a couple days before opening day. Paul and I had opened stores together before (including one in Brentwood, CA, the week of Nicole Brown-Simpson’s murder, but that’s another story…) so we were feeling confident that we could handle an opening day in Rockford, even if it was Friday the 13th.
The Kaisers had done a great job hiring their crew, building out 
the store, and spreading the word locally about their business. As part of their opening marketing plan, they placed a free loaf of bread coupon in the local paper (yep, people read newspapers back in 1996.) The response was amazing! We had customer stacked up in the lobby! A batch of bread would come out of the oven and it would go right out the door as fast as we could get it off the hot pans. When it was gone, the remaining customers would wait for the next batch as more came in the doors behind them. We’d try to keep everyone happy and entertained while they waited. It’s embarrassing to admit, but we even resorted to doing the Macarena. The steady stream continued through Saturday and then mercifully we were closed on Sunday. By Saturday afternoon, I told Paul I was ready to just sit down and cry – I couldn’t face another customer or answer another employee question about how to use the cash register.
Paul had his own challenges at the kneading table, including a guy we called the Kneading Table Heckler. The brand new crew was trying to knead hundreds of loaves of bread as fast as they could, while our customers watched and waited. The Heckler was actually the person who first named what we were going through – the Bread Panic of Rockford. So true.
Now it’s 14 years later and the Kaisers are still going strong in Rockford. Their cute kids have grown up and left for college. Barb and Steve have helped lots of other new bakery owners over the years with their knowledge and expertise. If you’re in the area, stop by and say “Congrats!” or check out their web site if you’re curious to learn more about them, and see a current photo of the Kaisers :-)
