History of Stick Boy

My wife, Mindy, and I walked into a Great Harvest Bread Company (a franchise) in Alexandria, VA on April Fools Day 2000. They were shaping loaves and giving out samples and they were BUSY. We both thought, "Wow, Boone doesn't have anything like this." Mindy and I (she having grown up in Boone and myself having lived here for 8 years at the time) both thought that Boone NEEDED something like that. Based on the last five years, I think we were right! From that day on we knew that we were going to open a bakery in Boone even though we didn't know the first thing about baking.

We proceeded to research the industry, talk to other bakery owners, and work on our business plan. In the end, we decided that we would start our own company "from scratch" rather than open a franchise.  After a week of training at "bread school" and working for a baker in Hickory, NC for a few days, everything else we learned was by trial and error in our home kitchen. I'll never forget the night we were working on sticky buns until late in the evening, and after falling asleep while they were in the oven, we woke up to a house full of smoke and the smell of burnt sugar. Thankfully, other test batches turned out much better.

In August 2001 we were ready to open the doors to our small 1000 square foot location that is now just the production area of Stick Boy. So, where did the name come from? It's not that exciting, but strangely it came from Alexandria, VA too. Our friend Yogi was driving through Alexandria where she lived at the time, and saw a sign on a light pole that had a hand drawn stick boy picture and said, "LOST—STICK BOY—if found call 222-333-4455." She thought it was funny and that Stick Boy would make a funny name for our bakery. Although we didn't all agree at first, it eventually stuck and we love it! So, while many people have guessed that it referred to me as the skinny baker (though not so skinny any more), I hope the real story doesn't disappoint.

As the bakery next door to the laundromat, our simple and small operation turned out artisan breads and breakfast pastries to the delight of our growing customer base. We were initially blown

Carson and bread baker Ann Wrede–2003

away by the positive response from the community and remain grateful to this day. Although we had some rough moments in the first days, we were soon in the routine of coming in at 2 am, baking everything and then emptying the shelves as customers rolled in. Within 2 years we had outgrown our space and after the laundromat next door closed, we expanded, tripling our space, and adding new products. When our doors opened to the expanded Stick Boy in July of 2003, our espresso bar, smoothie station, and dessert case full of delicious scratch baked pies and cakes made a big splash.

It's hard to believe that it's been almost five years since we sold our first cinnamon roll but at the same time, it feels like we've been baking forever. We've worked hard and are always trying to offer even better products and better customer service, but we can't express enough how thankful we are to each of you every time we see you at Stick Boy. You have made Stick Boy a success. We're not sure what the future holds for Stick Boy, but we are going to keep using the best ingredients and best methods to make the most delicious products possible. That's a promise!