OUR FOUNDER'S STORY
You could probably say that Great Harvest first began in 1972 in
the kitchen of Pete Wakeman's Mom in Durham, Connecticut. Pete and his
soon-to-be wife, Laura, were baking eight loaves of bread a day which
they would then sell on a roadside table. Soon the eight loaves turned
into fifty, and the couple had four ovens going in Mom Wakeman's garage.
In 1976 Pete and Laura moved out to Great Falls, Montana and opened
up their own bakery – Great Harvest. The project was phenomenally
successful, and since that time many people have approached the couple
eager to learn how to bake their brand of yummy bread, including us.
Pete and Laura's vision has been to help create a group of bakeries
that maintain the honest, homey individuality of their original bakery
in Great Falls. To do that, they've designed a unique franchise that
joins owners into a loose network of entrepreneurs. As it stands, we
have the freedom to experiment with our bakeries, and at the same time
remain closely tied to a group of people just as devoted to making great
bread as we are. Pete and Laura wouldn't have it any
other way!
