| Rick
and Karen Crawford opened their first bakery in Lafayette
Square Mall on the west side of Indianapolis in 1981, having
purchased a Tiffany's Bakery franchise from Rick's aunt.
Years prior to acquiring this bakery, Rick had baked his way
through college in his aunt's bakery, as a "cookie boy,"
and after graduation worked for the Kroger Co. as a deli and
bakery merchandiser. Karen also worked for Krogers as a deli
restaurant manager. Rick and Karen's 750 sq. foot shop in
Lafayette Square Mall featured cinnamon bread, Danish pastries,
and cookies. Rick was the main baker and Karen, with the part
time help of their thirteen-year-old daughter Jennifer, decorated
cakes on a single wooden bench in the back room. Wedding cakes
were delivered by using the couples two Omni hatchbacks.
The
Tiffany's
franchise dissolved in 1984 and Crawfords Bakery was born.
The Crawfords quickly out grew the tiny mall space and decided
to move to their current location at 1609 N. Capitol Ave.
in 1987. At this time, the bakery's name was changed to Crawfords
Bakery & Deli, as the Crawfords decided to incorporate
a deli program, along with their established full line bakery,
in order to capture a part of the area's busy lunch crowd.
The 1911 building they moved into was divided into two shops:
Crawfords Bakery & Deli with 3000 square feet and Pandell
Florists, owner of the building, with 1000 sq. feet. |
|
Due to
an increase in customer sales, Crawfords Bakery & Deli
expanded once more by taking over the space occupied by Pandell
Florists in 1999. In 2002 Rick, a self-taught baker, received
a Certified Master Baker certificate from the Retail Bakers
of America. At this time there were only 135 CMB's in the
United States, which is quite a distinction.
|
