Founders and co- C.E.O.s Steve Marks (above), Harvey Nelson and Mike Braun, plant manger, like being involved with key accounts at the grass roots level. Photos by Lisa DeJong.

Steve Marks and Harvey Nelson, co-C.E.O.s of Main Street Gourmet, founded their dynamic Akron, Ohio-based company on an innovative concept they discovered while visiting California in 1986. Marks and Nelson noticed people lined up 10 deep at a muffin shop at 10 a.m. on a Tuesday. After Marks acquired property on S. Main Street in downtown Akron for $5,000 at a real estate auction, these childhood friends took a risk and started a business that now produces about 15 million lb. of muffins and other sweetgoods, grosses between $16 million to $20 million in sales and has an anticipated growth factor of 10 percent for the next few years.

While the business has undergone many transformations since its inception, it has found its strength and niche in custom manufacturing. In addition, with the acquisition of Isabella's Healthy Bakery in 1999, it has a strong focus in the healthful baking category. “We were one of the first to come out with fat-free muffins and one of the first to come out with whole grain muffins,” Marks says. “We think we've been on the cutting edge on a lot of these things.”

One of the company's core strengths is its ability to adapt to changing demand. It prides itself on quick product development turnaround, flexible manufacturing and progressive ideas. Its philanthropic ideals are recognized throughout the Akron community; not only through its fundraising efforts with its nationally recognized “Muffins for Mammograms” program that raises money for women who can't afford breast cancer screening, but also through its support of the Weaver School Workshop, which works with the mentally challenged. Several Weaver School students work in Main Street's labeling department. The Akron Marathon, a non-profit organization dedicated to promote health and fitness was started and funded by the company.

A trip down Main Street

After settling on the concept of muffins, Marks, a CPA by training, and Nelson, who worked in the computer field, were overwhelmed with the amount of interest generated when 3,000 people showed up the first day they opened for business. “We made peanut butter and jelly muffins, we had lunch muffins: broccoli with cheese, pizza, tuna fish with celery and all these exotic things. We became sort of the ‘darling’ of downtown,” Marks says. “We weren't classical bakers; we didn't have classical experience. A lot of what we did was just classic paradigm. We did it wrong, we did it differently, we made different recipes, we bought non-traditional mixers, used the wrong type of flour, but, it made us different.”

After about six months in business, someone approached the partners, wanting to buy batter for a restaurant. “We looked at it as more of a threat than an opportunity and said, ‘hey, we're not sure, but if you get here at 5 o'clock and bring your own buckets, and we're in a good mood, we'll sell you some muffin batter,’” Marks explains. Fortunately, the person returned, buckets in hand, for six consecutive days, leaving Marks and Nelson contemplating the possibility of venturing into the wholesale market with their muffin batter. The partners started pursuing key accounts and were given an opportunity by Russell Vernon, second generation owner and manager, West Point Market, a famous market in Akron. They learned from that process and grew from there.

In 1991, Main Street became strictly a wholesale business as the partners recognized the vast potential for growth in that arena. The company had two retail stores at the time and sold both so it could focus on the muffin batter business. Marks and Nelson bought a 15,000 sq.-ft. converted meat plant and began producing batters for wholesale.

Main Street grew rapidly, at one point acquiring business with 1,500 regional McDonald's restaurants at one point, which baked the muffin batter in its biscuit ovens. McDonald's muffin sales reportedly increased five fold versus previous sales. But, it became very difficult for McDonald's operators because the muffins were congesting the process. McDonald's corporate got involved and changed the product from fresh baked to pre-deposit to thaw-and-serve, but business never really got back to where it was before. Although the fresh baked product was very successful, there were operational issues with it.

Muffin batter is mixed in 400 lb. batches, deposited into trays and baked in rack ovens, according to specification.

Eventually, the company outgrew its converted meat plant and built its own 25,000 sq. ft. facility in one of Akron's industrial parks on four acres of land it purchased in 1993. Marks and Nelson sold the business in 1996 to a venture firm. Eventually, Main Street became the platform for making acquisitions. Once it acquired a cookie company, a brownie company and Isabella's Healthy Bakery, it changed its name from Main Street Muffins to Main Street Gourmet to better reflect its product lines. It also added 35,000 sq. ft. to its existing facility to accommodate Isabella's lines.

Before the acquisition of Rhode Island-based Isabella's, Main Street only produced batter and dough. But, Isabella's marked the company's entry into baking. “It was much easier to convince the banks we could buy a business, versus just starting up from scratch,” Marks says. “That's how we got into the baking part of it. We recognized thaw-and-serve was going to be a force to reckon with, and we needed to be in that.”

When the venture firm that owned Main Street bought Best Brands, Marks and Nelson realized their company would no longer be the main focus. Main Street's founders subsequently became the natural buyers and bought the business back in 2004.