bake - June 2018 - 18

Grand opening in Overland Park
Kneaders officially opened its doors to the Overland
Park, Kansas, community during a May 10 grand
opening events, including a special ribbon cutting
with speaker and chamber president Tracey Osborne
Oltjen, city council president Jim Kite, chamber
board members and volunteers, and representatives
of Kneaders franchise partner Four Foods Group,
co-founded by Shauna and Andrew Smith.

Kneaders is projecting
$110 million in sales
in 2018 with an
estimated 120 new
hires across all markets.
Franchise owners Shauna, who is chief merchandising
officer, and Andrew, chief executive officer, bring a
wealth of energy and experience to their roles. In
2008, the Smiths embarked on their ﬁrst experience
with restaurant ownership. For this new culinary
adventure, they chose Kneaders. For many years,
Kneaders had been a popular restaurant in Utah

ORIGINS OF A BAKERY CAFE
Decades ago, upon retiring as franchisees of
nine successful Subway restaurants, Gary and
Colleen Worthington began thinking about
their next endeavor: scratch-made artisanal
breads. Their interest in traditional bakeries
led them to research and develop a restaurant
concept featuring the highest-quality ingredients for authentic European hearth breads.
The Worthingtons' endeavor led them to study
at the American Institute of Baking and the
San Francisco Baking Institute, where they
trained with industry professionals in mastering the use of world-class levains, pure ingredients and baking environments for unique
hearth breads. Following their studies, the
Worthingtons worked closely with Lehi Roller
Mills in their home state of Utah to develop an
exclusive flour blend. The proprietary flour
was rated as one of the highest quality blends
among European flours by the San Francisco
Baking Institute. Knowing they needed the
right tools to create genuine artisan breads, the
Worthingtons imported their first hearthstone,
steam-infusion oven from Verona, Italy, and in
1997 the first Kneaders Bakery and Café was
opened in Orem, Utah.

County, where the Smiths lived, but it had yet to grow
beyond that area. As the Smiths opened their ﬁrst
location, they began to develop big plans to grow this
Utah Valley staple to new levels.
In 2009, they negotiated an exclusive multi-state
development agreement between their Four Foods
Group and GCW Corporation, parent company to
Kneaders. In 2015, an additional 15 states west of the

Twenty years later, the Worthingtons are still
serving their original nine European hearth
breads made from the exclusive Lehi Roller Mills
flour blend, along with 42 handmade pastries, a
variety of fresh salads and soups made in-house
daily. Kneaders has become one of the fastest
growing companies in Utah, expanding its reach
to nearly 60 locations in six Western states.

Mississippi were granted to Four Foods Group to
develop up to 110 new Kneaders restaurants over the
next ﬁve years.
The Overland Park location spans approximately
4,200 square feet and offers a customer ﬂoor space
of 1,600 square feet, with available seating for 84
guests. The store will create an anticipated 40
jobs for the community. In addition to opening the
Overland Park location, Kneaders celebrated their
third Idaho location with their April grand opening in

18 < JUN 2018 | bakemag.com

Kneaders has received numerous local and
state awards, including Best of State breakfast,
best sandwich, best baked goods and best pastries. The Worthingtons are actively involved in
day-to-day operations at their corporate headquarters in Orem. Colleen Worthington's added
touch of offering themed boutique retail items,
home décor, seasonal decorations and beautiful
gift baskets has made the restaurants a favorite spot for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

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bake - June 2018

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