Bakers Square facts for kids
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| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Restaurants |
| Founded | December 1969 (as Mrs. C's, later Poppin' Fresh Pies) - 1983 (as Bakers Square) |
| Headquarters | , |
| Parent | BBQ Holdings, Inc. |
Bakers Square is a restaurant chain in the United States. It's famous for its delicious pies, but you can also enjoy full breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus there. BBQ Holdings owns the restaurant chain. As of April 2024, there are 9 Bakers Square restaurants in states like Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, and Ohio.
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The Story of Bakers Square
Bakers Square started way back in December 1969. It was first a single restaurant called Mrs. C's in Des Moines, Iowa. People loved its pies!
Later, a company called Pillsbury bought Mrs. C's. They changed its name to Poppin' Fresh Pies and opened more restaurants. In 1983, VICORP, which owned the Village Inn restaurants, bought Poppin' Fresh Pies. They then renamed the chain Bakers Square.
Where You Can Find Bakers Square
Most Bakers Square restaurants are in the Upper Midwest part of the United States. Usually, Bakers Square and Village Inn restaurants are in different areas.
The very first Mrs. C's restaurant in Des Moines stayed open as a Bakers Square for a long time. However, it closed on April 2, 2008. This happened when VICORP, the company that owned it, faced financial difficulties.
In 2009, a new company called American Blue Ribbon Holdings bought Village Inn and Bakers Square. This company is owned by Fidelity National Financial and Newport Global Advisors.
Changes in California
Bakers Square used to have many restaurants in California, over 90 of them! They competed with other popular chains like Marie Callender's and Coco's Bakery. Bakers Square came to California in 1984. This was when its parent company bought the Sambo's restaurant chain. Many Sambo's locations became Bakers Square restaurants.
Bakers Square was very popular in California in the early 2000s. But as the economy changed, restaurants faced challenges. By 2005, profits started to go down. Bakers Square began closing restaurants in California as their leases ended. The restaurants that stayed open didn't get updated, and business continued to decline.
By February 2009, more than 80 Bakers Square locations in California had closed. Many of these buildings are now empty. A few locations in the Los Angeles area turned into other restaurants. The last Bakers Square in Southern California was in San Diego. It eventually closed too.
Pie Production
VICORP also closed its pie-making factory in Santa Fe Springs, California. However, two other pie factories are still running. They are in Oak Forest, Illinois, and Chaska, Minnesota. These factories, now called "Legendary Baking," make 18 million pies every year! These pies are for Bakers Square, Village Inn, and other food services.
Recent Closures and Ownership Changes
In March 2009, another restaurant chain called Shari's Restaurants bought four Bakers Square locations in the San Francisco Bay Area. They kept operating as Bakers Square for eight months.
Bakers Square also stopped operating in Michigan, where it once had many restaurants.
On January 24, 2020, Bakers Square permanently closed nine more locations. These included restaurants in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Minnesota.
Just a few days later, on January 27, 2020, American Blue Ribbon Holdings, the company that owned Bakers Square and Village Inn, also faced financial difficulties.
On September 14, 2020, Bakers Square came out of its financial troubles with 14 locations. It became part of a new company called VIBSQ Holdings LLC.
On December 9, 2020, the last Bakers Square restaurant in Wisconsin closed.
In July 2021, VIBSQ Holdings was sold to BBQ Holdings. BBQ Holdings is also the company that owns Famous Dave's BBQ.
Images for kids
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A typical Bakers Square restaurant in Redwood City, California, around 2005. This location has since closed.
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A Bakers Square restaurant in Willoughby Hills, Ohio (this location is now closed).
