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8227 Northwest Blvd., Ste. 205, Indianapolis, IN 46278, Phone: 317-872-2660, Fax: 317-872-1573

 

The Crawfords Bakery Story

     Rick and Karen Crawford opened their first bakery in Lafayette Square Mall on the west side of Indianapolis, IN in 1981, having purchased a Tiffany's Bakery franchise from Rick's aunt. Years prior to acquiring this bakery, Rick baked his way through college in his Aunt Jody's Tiffany bakery on the northeast side of town  as a "cookie boy," and after graduating from IU School of Business  worked for the Kroger Co. as a deli and bakery merchandiser. Karen also worked for the Kroger Co. as a deli restaurant manager. Rick and Karen's 750 sq. ft. Tiffany Bakery  in Lafayette Square Mall featured fresh cinnamon bread,  Danish pastries, cakes for all occasions,  and cookies. Back in the early years, 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  their bakery operation  to  1609 N. Capitol Ave., across from Methodist Hospital,  in downtown Indianapolis in 1987. At this time, the bakery's name was changed to Crawfords Bakery & Deli, as Rick and Karen decided to incorporate a deli program, along with their established full line retail bakery, in order to capture the local  area's busy lunch crowd. The 1911 building they moved into was divided into two shops: Crawfords Bakery & Deli with 3000 sq. ft. and Pandell Florists, owner of the building, with 1000 sq. ft. 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. There were only only 135 CMB's in the United States at this time, which is quite a distinction. Unable to release the building,  Crawfords Bakery & Deli closed its doors, after twenty one years of operation, on September 30th, 2008. 

     While keeping busy with their downtown bakery deli, Rick and Karen opened a 12,400 sq. ft.  wholesale bakery in 2003 with the vision of supplying quality products to customers looking for a niche co-packer.  Even though their retail business ended in 2008,  the wholesale arm of the business has grown to take its place.  With the use of automated equipment  and shifts running 24/7,  Crawfords Wholesale Bakery now is a  24,600 sq. ft. plant  with products being shipped to 48 states in the contiguous US. It is also a Kosher business.  The AIB superior plant specializes in producing  customized cakes, cookies, brownies,  muffins, & Danish and will be BRG approved in 2010. 

    
     In 2009, Crawfords Wholesale developed its own product line called Crawfords Own. Crawfords Own consists of jumbo cupcakes, muffins, extra chewy brownies,  a variety of flavored cake layers, and Danish coffeecakes.       

  8227 Northwest Blvd., Ste.205 Indianapolis, IN 46278
  Phone: 317-872-2660, Fax: 317-872-1573
Hours of Operation: Monday thru Friday 8:30 am - 4:30 pm

Closed Weekends and Major Holidays  

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