Kneaders Bakery & Café was created from scratch when Gary and Colleen Worthington realized that retirement just wasn't for them.
In 1997, the couple came out of retirement to start a small business in Orem making fresh European artisan breads.
“After we had run Subway franchises for several years, we left and thought we would retire. But being retired was incredibly boring,” said Colleen Worthington, the brand officer and manager of Kneaders. “As two people that came from parents who thought hard work was amazing and filled your life, we just couldn’t do it. We did a lot of volunteer work, which was rewarding, but there’s nothing like building something from scratch and being able to sit back and having an influence on people's lives and making their lives better.”
Eighteen years later, Kneaders Bakery & Café has expanded in both offerings and presence. The menu now includes sandwiches, soups, desserts and salads. There are now 33 locations throughout Utah, Idaho, Colorado, Arizona and Texas. This year, 10 more restaurants are scheduled to open.
“We see Kneaders growing a lot in the future,” said David Vincent, the CFO of Kneaders. “We have some ambitious goals, and in the past five years we have grown by 20 or more stores and we are, on average, adding about five stores a year. We are hoping to excel that to seven to 10 stores a year.”
From the beginning, the Worthingtons have also valued community service.
“One of the reasons we came out of retirement, besides being bored, was that there are more opportunities as a business to be of service to your community than just one single person,” Colleen Worthington said.
Each Kneaders location has a partnership with a nonprofit organization as a means of providing community service.
“We don’t sell any day-old bread,” Colleen Worthington said. “All of our day-old products are donated to different organizations, specifically in the community. Sometimes it goes to the Head Start program to feed kids, Navajos in Need, rescue missions in Salt Lake. We have allowed every store to decide where they are going to donate their day-old bread.”
This year, Kneaders Bakery & Café was the title sponsor of the American Fork Canyon Half Marathon. All funds raised from the race went to cancer centers in Utah Valley. This cause is dear to the Worthingtons, who have a grandchild battling Hodgkin’s disease.
“Most every family in some way is touched by cancer,” Colleen Worthington said. “If we can band together and people get strong about fighting it, we can help find a cure. We want to be a part of helping people manage that process in their life when they are going through it. It is so difficult to watch a person you love and who’s young and doesn’t understand go through all of that. It’s too hard for people to do it by themselves. They need everybody in the community to fight with them.”
According to James Worthington, the CEO of Kneaders, it's important for guests "to be comfortable every time they come to eat.” Kneaders also seeks to create a family friendly environment.
“For a lot of people, anywhere with their family is the most comfortable place to be,” James Worthington said. “If they can bring their family to the restaurant and feel comfortable, we have been successful. We are a family business, and that appeals to us. We try to make sure we have the right feel in the store and that our employees are able to cater to families. We get a lot of families who come in for dinner and on Saturday mornings for breakfast in pajamas.”
Each member of the Worthington family has had a part in the business in some way or another. James Worthington said although working with family can be interesting at times, it's definitely rewarding.
“Running a family business can either be the best or the worst,” Colleen Worthington said. “And I think we got the best.”
Email: kschwab@deseretnews.com