These days at Merritt's Bakery...
In late 2007, we moved our production staff to a new kitchen facility which we quaintly called "The Fort". After several years of expanding we had just out grown our kitchens in each retail location, and rather than move the stores (thus, inconvienencing our customers) we moved the kitchen. This solved several problems of having duplications in staff, equipment and supplies as well as the managing of it all. Our new kitchen was located just down the road from the Midtown store, so we can bake fresh all day and move the product almost to the doorstep of your neighborhood bakery whether it be in Midtown, Broken Arrow or now Jenks. The efficiencies gained allow us to keep prices lower, have better consistancy in our products, and make for a better work environment for our staff.
Starting that March in '08 we opened in the Jenks/Riverside area of Tulsa with our 3rd Location at 101st & Riverside Drive. A warm and inviting interior makes you feel right at home while still giving the cozy feel of the neighborhood bakery. Riverside has lots of room for you and your family as well as a small meeting room for your Bible study group, birthday or corporate meeting. It also features a full sized wedding showroom to allow you complete comfort and access to order your bridal cake.
Now we have been in “The Fort” for 3 years and what we only suspected has become a reality. Here we can produce every product with better control of quality and better production efficiencies, which means being able to maintain our pricing at current levels. This fulfills two of our company goals, being able to offer very high quality baked goods and at prices that anyone can afford. Every year food safety has become increasingly more important. Food safety is very high on our priority list. So much so, that we are preparing for a certification from the American Institute of Baking in sanitation and food safety. This certification is far above the requirements of the Tulsa City/County health dept. Ingredient listing, nutritional labeling, and allergen awareness are all a part of every product that we sell. Where Merritt’s Bakery is today after 33 years in business is still a journey, some accomplished dreams and a few failures, but most important, a future of exciting new paths. Merritt’s Bakery was built literally on our retail cake business and our wonderful customers. Retail baking will always be a part of Merritt’s Bakery, however, our future holds the possibility of many other paths.
The Merritt family has always been very involved in the The Retail Bakery Association (RBA) and Greater Southwest Retail Bakers Association (GSWRBA). Besides being members of both associations, Larry has served on the Board of Directors of both associations, President of GSWRBA, Executive Committee of RBA, and as the President of RBA. For many years Bobbie has served as a guest cake decorator for the RBA workshop program. She has decorated in Sacramento, Los Angeles, Hartford, New Orleans, Springfield, Pittsburgh, Houston, San Antonio, Austin, and Dallas, and Colorado Springs. Merritt's Bakery is also a founding member of RPIA, a bakery buying group, which allows for innovative purchasing and advance product rollout. This elite group is comprised of many of the top privately held bakeries in America, and brings many new ideas, products, and methods to the Southwest bakery market.
