international breads in january 2015 industry bakery founded june 1997 1997 06 in detroit michigan united states founders ann perrault and jackie victor headquarters detroit michigan united states area served michigan products baked goods sandwiches and coffee website www.avalonbreads.net avalon international breads is a bakery located in detroit michigan that produces a wide variety of baked goods including breads rolls pizzas cookies and pastries as well as sandwiches and coffee . it was established in june 1997 by ann perrault and jackie victor in detroit s midtown cass corridor neighborhood . the bakery serves both individual customers and wholesale clients such as grocery stores and restaurants . avalon international breads adheres to a triple bottom line philosophy which it interprets as consisting of earth community and employees . as of february 2015 it employs a total of 56 people 90 % of whom are detroit residents . the bakery has three locations its original building at 422 w. willis in midtown cass corridor ; its eat well do good cafe at henry ford hospital in new center ; and its avalon city ovens production facility on detroit s east side . financially the bakery has grown steadily recording profits of 60 000 in 2006 and 2.2 million in 2011 . contents 1 products 2 history 3 operations 3.1 business model 3.2 employees 3.3 locations 3.4 finances and growth 4 references 5 external links products edit avalon international breads produces a wide variety of baked goods including breads rolls pizzas cookies and pastries as well as sandwiches and coffee . 1 in 2014 it became the first establishment in metro detroit to serve toast bar style artisan toast . 2 the bakery also sells a wide variety of foods and beverages made by other michigan based companies including products from ann arbor s garden works lansing s apple schram and trenton s chartreuse organic herbal tea . 3 history edit avalon international breads was established in 1997 in detroit s midtown cass corridor neighborhood 1 4 5 the creation of life partners ann perrault and jackie victor . 3 6 before opening the bakery perrault and victor worked at stonehouse breads in leland michigan where they both baked and developed their future business plan . 7 although neither were originally from detroit both founders have long been residents of the city ; perrault who is originally from downriver has lived in detroit since 1980 while victor who hails from metro detroit s northern suburbs has been a city resident since 1990 . 1 upon opening avalon international breads in june 1997 7 perrault and victor had 150 000 for covering their startup costs which they had gained through donations two loans from ann arbor s zen temple and from selling 20 000 in bread coupons . 1 the bakery s founders based their business model on the buddhist concept of right livelihood which they learned from the zen priest and corporate management consultant geri larkin . 3 they also received assistance from the ann arbor based bakery zingerman s including a substantial discount on the purchase of its old steam powered oven as well as its original business plan . 1 in 2008 avalon international breads was serving about 500 customers daily 6 which by 2015 had expanded to over 1 000 customers each day . 7 as of 2015 the bakery also serves over 40 wholesale clients ; 7 they include grocery stores such as holiday market plum market and whole foods market and restaurants throughout southeast michigan including small plates in detroit the jolly pumpkin in ann arbor frittata in clawson and bastone in royal oak . 4 3 in january 2013 avalon international breads was purchasing over 9 000 pounds 4 100 kg of milled organic bread flour from farmers in kansas every week making it the largest purchaser of organic flour in michigan . 3 operations edit business model edit avalon international breads adheres to a triple bottom line philosophy which it interprets as consisting of earth community and employees . 8 firstly it uses organic and local ingredients wherever possible while also practicing other environmentally friendly policies at every opportunity 8 as in the case of recycling . 1 secondly the bakery supports organizations and projects that create a healthier more vibrant detroit 8 from giving its leftovers to food banks to its founders campaign to shut down the city s municipal trash incinerator . 1 finally the bakery pays its employees living wages while also providing them with benefits 8 including health care 50 % for massage therapy and liberal vacation time . 1 the bakery also practices open book management which allows its employees to access its financial information . 6 employees edit in 2008 avalon international breads employed 35 people ; 6 by 2012 it employed 55 including six at its eat well do good cafe at henry ford hospital . 9 the bakery expected to add approximately 100 additional employees in 2013 to help it accommodate growth resulting from the opening of avalon city ovens its new production facility and a prospective move to a larger midtown cass corridor location on w. canfield . 10 however by february 2015 a move to w. canfield had not occurred 5 and the bakery counted a total of 56 employees . 11 partially due to recruiting at detroit schools and informing neighborhood residents of available employment opportunities 90 % of the bakery s employees are residents of the city ; however avalon city ovens manager kyresha lefever notes that hiring has not always been easy and the bakery has had a hard time finding inner city people that just have ... a baking background or a pastry background . 11 lefever also adds that the bakery is a very lgbt friendly employer and that it s a breath of fresh air to work for someone that plays such a major role in the lgbt community . 3 locations edit the original avalon international breads location at 422 w. willis in january 2015 the original avalon international breads bakery is located at 422 w. willis in the midtown cass corridor neighborhood of detroit . 5 here the bakery uses a traditional old world baking technique that involves hand stirring its bread starter in a 260 pound 120 kg italian style dough mixer and baking it in a 10 000 pound 4 500 kg steam injected oven . 1 3 4 the bakery has two additional locations in detroit the eat well do good cafe at henry ford hospital at 2799 w. grand boulevard in new center and avalon city ovens a production facility in a former industrial warehouse at 4731 bellevue on the city s east side near the packard automotive plant . 5 9 established in 2013 avalon city ovens features a large italian artisan deck oven and accounts for the majority of the bakery s output primarily serving its retail and wholesale customers . 10 12 finances and growth edit in 2006 avalon international breads recorded a net income of 60 000 which tripled to 180 000 in 2007 . 6 in 2009 it generated 1.8 million in revenue and by 2011 its revenue had increased to 2.2 million . this growth was largely driven by the expansion of the bakery s line of sweets which grew in value from 400 000 to 975 000 over the previous 18 months and total sales at the eat well do good cafe which beat expectations and totaled over 725 000 by 2012 . 13 since 2012 the bakery has been exploring the possibility of moving from its original location on w. willis to a newer and larger building on nearby w. canfield next to the traffic jam & snug restaurant ; 9 12 however as of february 2015 the bakery is still located in its original building on willis . 5 references edit a b c d e f g h i collins lisa m. september 4 2002 . on a roll . metro times . retrieved february 27 2015 . rector sylvia october 16 2014 . metro detroit s first toast bar pops up in midtown . detroit free press . retrieved february 27 2015 . a b c d e f g opalewski kate january 31 2013 . avalon breads rises to new heights . pridesource . retrieved february 27 2015 . a b c avalon international breads . whole foods market . retrieved february 27 2015 . a b c d e location map . avalon international breads . retrieved february 27 2015 . a b c d e gray patricia b. march 24 2008 . a bakery on the rise . cnnmoney . retrieved february 27 2015 . a b c d our story . avalon international breads . retrieved february 27 2015 . a b c d triple bottom line earth community employees . avalon international breads . retrieved february 27 2015 . a b c zemke jon november 27 2012 . avalon expands into east side midtown and new center . model d. retrieved february 27 2015 . a b muller david february 23 2013 . avalon international breads opens new facility gains major suppliers will hire 100 workers by the end of the year . mlive . booth newspapers . retrieved february 27 2015 . a b graham lester february 6 2015 . even this detroit bakery has a hard time finding skilled workers . michigan radio . retrieved february 27 2015 . a b gallagher john november 15 2012 . avalon international breads to shift production to new east side detroit site . detroit free press . retrieved february 27 2015 . skid nathan november 18 2012 . sweet toothed customers feed expansion plans for avalon breads . crain s detroit business . retrieved march 1 2015 . external links edit wikimedia commons has media related to avalon international breads . official website made in michigan avalon international breads on fox 2 detroit retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title avalon international breads & oldid 743440470 categories bakeries of the united statescompanies based in detroitfood and drink companies established in 1997american companies established in 19971997 establishments in michiganhidden categories use mdy dates from april 2015commons category with local link same as on wikidata navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version in other projects wikimedia commons languages add links this page was last modified on 9 october 2016 at 17 38 . text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike license ; 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