Schwebel's Bakery facts for kids
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| Private | |
| Founded | 1906 |
| Founder | Joseph and Dora Schwebel |
| Headquarters |
U.S. 44502
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Key people
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Number of employees
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Approximately 1,000 |
Schwebel's Bakery is a well-known company that makes bread and other yummy baked goods. It started in Youngstown, Ohio, a long time ago, in the early 1900s. Today, it's a big company that serves many areas.
How It Started
Schwebel's Bakery was started by a married couple, Joseph and Dora Schwebel. They began baking bread in their home kitchen in Campbell, Ohio, in 1906. Soon, they started selling their fresh bread to people in nearby Youngstown. This was the official start of Schwebel's Bakery.
In 1914, Joseph and Dora began selling their bread in local "mom and pop" stores. This helped their small business grow and reach more customers. To keep up with demand, they hired more bakers to help. The company even used horses and wagons to deliver bread to places outside Youngstown.
By 1923, Schwebel's had six delivery trucks. In the same year, they built a small bakery with a store attached. They could bake and deliver 1,000 loaves of bread every day! Even with this success, the company faced some tough times in the 1920s and 1930s.
Tough Times and Growth
Dora Schwebel faced many challenges in the late 1920s and 1930s. In 1928, her husband Joseph passed away suddenly. Dora was left to run the family business and raise their six children by herself. Many people thought she should sell the bakery. But Dora was determined to keep the company going.
Less than a year later, in 1929, the stock market crashed. This made running a business even harder. Dora worked very hard, day and night, to keep the bakery open. She made important agreements that helped the business survive. In 1936, she built a new bakery that could make twice as much bread. She added to it again in 1938 and 1941.
By the late 1940s, after World War II, more and more people wanted Schwebel's products. The company was growing very fast!
New Facilities and Expansion
In 1951, Dora and her children moved the bakery to a new, bigger building in Youngstown. This new facility had modern equipment that helped the business even more.
In the 1960s, the third generation of the Schwebel family joined the company. They brought new ideas and wanted the company to grow even faster. In 1967, their "Golden Rich Bread" became so popular that other bakeries across the country started making it under a special agreement.
By the end of the 1970s, Schwebel's was delivering bread to many more cities. They became a big player in places like Canton, Ohio, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Cleveland, Ohio. They also made their bakeries bigger and added machines to make bread and buns faster.
The 1980s and 1990s were a time of huge growth. Schwebel's bought several other bakeries, becoming a major company in the region. They added delivery centers in Columbus, Ohio, and Buffalo, New York. During this time, they also made special baking agreements with companies like Stouffer's, Pillsbury Company, and even Disney's Epcot theme park.
Recent Changes
In recent years, Schwebel's has made some changes to its operations. In 2013, they closed their plant in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. Some of that production moved to their plant in Solon, Ohio.
In 2018 and 2019, Schwebel's closed some of its bakery outlet stores. These were in Meadville, Pennsylvania, Austintown, Ohio, and Warren, Ohio. In March 2019, the company announced it would close its bakery in Solon, Ohio. This change meant about 204 jobs would be cut. After these changes, the company still has about 1,000 employees.
See also
