Acme Bread Company

People

Steve, Suzie, Becca and Rachel Sullivan, Claudio Rezende, Monica Contois, Laura Wilches and Michael Jaramillo, along with more than 220 full-time employees

Where

Berkeley, San Francisco, and South San Francisco; 12, 0, and 10 miles to the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market

About

In the late 1970s, Steve worked as a busboy at Chez Panisse restaurant. After Alice Waters tried his bread, Steve started baking for the restaurant. In 1983, Steve started Acme Bread Company with his wife, Suzie. Acme’s bakers work with stone hearth European deck ovens and a 1930s Spanish brick oven. In three production shifts, hand-formed loaves and pastries are baked throughout the day and night. All employees are offered full medical benefits, a 401k plan with company matching, and profit sharing, with a company-wide $21/hour minimum wage.

Sourcing

Acme uses organic flour grown in California, Washington, Colorado, Utah, and Canada, and milled in Utah. Butter and milk are purchased from Challenge Dairy, which uses hormone-free milk from California farms. Acme uses mostly local, organic fruits and vegetables in their products.