Our Bakeries
Aunt Millie’s has some of the most technologically advanced bakeries in the United States. These bakeries are fast, efficient, and sanitary.
Our Bakeries – How to find us
| Location Name | Phone | Toll Free | Address |
| 
| Coldwater I Bakery | 517-278-2370 | 1 800 733-0591 | 189 W. Garfield Ave.
Coldwater, MI 49036 |
|
| Coldwater II Bakery | 517-279-2386 | N/A | 454 Butters Ave.
Coldwater,MI 49036 |
|
| Company Headquarters
and Fort Wayne Bakery | 260-424-8245 | 1 800 995-8245 | 350 Pearl St.
Fort Wayne, IN 46802 |
|
| Jackson Bakery | 517-787-6720 | 1 800 726-2867 | 2100 Enterprise Dr.
Jackson, MI 49203 |
|
| Kalamazoo Bakery | 269-343-1217 | 1 800 733-0461 | 807 Palmer Ave.
Kalamazoo, MI 49001 |
|
| Lansing Office | 517-886-3904 | 1 800 733-0469 | 5085 W.Grand River Ave.
Lansing, MI 48906 |
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| Plymouth Bakery | 734-354-9520 | 1 866 354-4447 | 45789 Port St.
Plymouth, MI 48170 |
|
| Sidney Bakery | 937-492-2220 | 1 800 773-8217 | 1900 Progress Way
Sydney, OH 45365 |
Fort Wayne, Indiana Bakery
Fort Wayne, Indiana is the corporate headquarters of Aunt Millie’s, and the site of one of the fastest bakeries in the United States. The Fort Wayne bakery houses five packaging lines baking 200 loaves of bread per minute. This adds up to 12,000 loaves per hour, or 120,000 loaves on a 10-hour shift.
Aunt Millie’s Fort Wayne Bakery is a state-of-the-art, computer-operated plant. The plant has an automatic oven, an automatic proofer, and automatic pan stacker and retrieval system and an automatic basket loading machine.
The American Institute of Baking has awarded Aunt Millie’s Fort Wayne bakery Superior ratings and an Excellent ranking in 2009. Also, the Fort Wayne bakery has received the Gold Plate Award.
Coldwater and Coldwater II, Michigan Bakeries
The original Coldwater Bakery is fully automatic, producing buns at an average of 800 per minute. Aunt Millie’s second bakery at this location, Coldwater II, opened in 1997 and produces specialty items. Coldwater II produces Aunt Millie’s bagels, muffins, and English muffins.
The American Institute of Baking has awarded Aunt Millie’s Coldwater I Bakery a Superior sanitation ranking each year since 1990. In addition, this bakery has received the highest sanitation scores for a wholesale bakery ever given by the AIB. Coldwater II has received an Excellent or Superior rating each of the last four years.
Coldwater I Bakery named Wendy’s Supplier of the Year Each year one bakery is chosen by Wendy’s International, Inc. to receive its Supplier of the Year Award, for producing hamburger buns for Wendy’s Old Fashioned Hamburgers restaurants. Aunt Millie’s Bakeries’ Coldwater I Bakery was named Wendy’s Supplier of the Year for 2003. Aunt Millie’s supplies buns for Wendy’s restaurants throughout the Midwest.
The Wendy’s Supplier of the Year Award is a high honor in the baking industry. All the bakeries in North America that supply buns to Wendy’s compete for the award.
To choose its Supplier of the Year, Wendy’s considers three factors; quality, annual American Institute of Baking audit scores, and scores from Wendy’s own audits. Wendy’s randomly evaluates buns on such criteria as slice height, crust color, symmetry, crust character, grain, flavor, and softness.
Out of 28 bakeries, Aunt Millie’s Coldwater I Bakery finished first in quality on four-inch buns, with a year-end average of 96.81. Coldwater I also finished sixth in quality on Wendy’s Classic buns with an average of 95.06. These scores are the highest the Coldwater I Bakery has ever received.
Aunt Millie’s Vice President of Production, Tony Dalo, said, “All associates and supervisors at the Coldwater I Bakery deserve all the credit for what was accomplished in 2003.”
John F. Popp, Aunt Millie’s President, said, “We are pleased and proud to hear of our Coldwater bakery receiving the Wendy’s Supplier of the Year Award. Aunt Millie’s goal is to produce the highest quality baked goods in the United States. Receiving this award tells us we are one step closer to achieving that goal.”
Wendy’s International, Inc. is one of the world’s largest restaurant operating and franchising companies with more than 9,200 total restaurants, including Wendy’s Old Fashioned Hamburgers restaurants.
Jackson, Michigan Bakery
Aunt Millie’s Jackson Bakery is probably one of the most technologically advanced bakeries in North America. It houses four packaging lines, baking 160 loaves of bread per minute.
Like Aunt Millie’s Fort Wayne Bakery, the Jackson plant is fully automated. In addition, Jackson boasts a computer-controlled automatic mixing room, where over 35 different ingredients are mixed to create the dozens of different varieties of bread baked in this location.
Aunt Millie’s Jackson plant produces Aunt Millie’s Homestyle, Healthy Goodness, and Split Top Breads.
Kalamazoo, Michigan Bakery
Aunt Millie’s Kalamazoo Bakery produces Aunt Millie’s delicious Hearth Breads. The bakery is capable of producing both buns and bread, (800 hot dog buns and 800 hamburger buns per minute are produced at this plant). This flexibility enables Aunt Millie’s to meet production needs for in-store specials and seasonal fluctuations in demand.
The American Institute of Baking has awarded Aunt Millie’s Kalamazoo Bakery a Superior sanitation rating each year since 1994.
Plymouth, Michigan Bakery
Aunt Millie’s purchased a 64,000 square foot building in Plymouth, Michigan, in the fall of 2004. Over the winter, the company made minor renovations and installed approximately $6 million in equipment.
The Aunt Millie’s Plymouth Bakery opened in May, 2005. It produces Aunt Millie’s Hamburger and Hot Dog Buns. “We needed additional capacity to produce buns,” said John F. Popp, Aunt Millie’s President. “Over the last six months we acquired a number of new customers. This led to a higher demand for buns than we anticipated. This new plant will allow us to meet that demand.”
Since the plant’s opening, Aunt Millie’s has invested in additional equipment including a state-of-the-art bread line.
Sidney, Ohio Bakery
Located 25 miles north of Dayton, the Sidney plant was purchased from Campbell’s Soup in 1995. Aunt Millie’s then made significant renovations to the building, resulting in a state-of-the-art bakery that produces buns.
The Sidney Bakery houses Aunt Millie’s fastest production lines. 6,600 bun 8-packs per hour are produced on three lines.
The American Institute of Baking awarded Aunt Millie’s Sidney Bakery a Superior Sanitation rating 5 years in a row.
Aunt Millie’s Vice President of Manufacturing is Baking Executive of the Year for 2008
Tony Dalo, 2008 Baking & Snack Operations Executive of the Year, creates a recipe for personal and professional success through teamwork, strong family values and education.
Dec. 1, 2008, “Baking Business”: The influence of family, both personal and professional, has been instrumental in the life and career of Tony Dalo, vice-president of manufacturing, Aunt Millie’s Bakeries, Fort Wayne, IN. Lessons learned on the job along with the successful expansion of Aunt Millie’s are just few of the reasons Mr. Dalo was named Baking & Snack's 2008 Operations Executive of the Year.
BAKER'S BLOOD. Born into a family of Italian bakers, Mr. Dalo doesn't lack for experience. Sharing childhood memories of standing on a box to load dough in the bread moulder at the family-owned Dalo Bakery, Mr. Dalo said his initiation into wholesale baking began in 1987 during the Baking Science and Technology course at the American Institute of Baking International (AIB). His mentor, Clayton C. Daley, a past-president of the American Society of Baking, so strongly believed in Mr. Dalo's attendance at AIB that he secured his place in the closed course by offering to fund a continuing scholarship at AIB.
"Wholesale baking opened a new world for me," Mr. Dalo said. "I love the pace of wholesale baking. It requires you to think on your feet when things move this fast."
After graduating from AIB, Mr. Dalo gave notice at the family bakery where he was co-owner and accepted a position as assistant production superintendent at Erickson's Bakery, part of the Heilman/Metz Baking Co. in La Crosse, WI. Mr. Dalo continued with family-owned Metz Baking as a production manager at Our Own Bakery in Marquette, MI, from 1988 to 1990. During his employment at Metz Baking, Mr. Dalo honed the skills of hard work and dedication instilled by his father, Mr. Daley and another mentor, James Caudle, vice-president of manufacturing, Aunt Millie’s Bakery.
A recommendation from Mr. Caudle brought Mr. Dalo, age 31, to Aunt Millie’s in 1990 as plant manager of the company's first Coldwater, MI, plant, the first plant built under John Popp, president of Aunt Millie’s.
Encouraged by Mr. Caudle, Mr. Dalo arrived at the location to find new construction under way.
With a new baby and new home in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Mr. Dalo sought Mr. Daley's advice on the change.
Stressing the strong values and leadership the Popp family provided, Mr. Caudle believed Mr. Dalo was ideal for the Coldwater position.
"Aunt Millie’s being family-owned is why I am here," Mr. Dalo said.
The success of the Coldwater plant not only catalyzed Mr. Dalo’s rise to success but also solidified Aunt Millie’s intention to become a major player in the bun market. Mr. Dalo served as plant manager in Coldwater from 1990-96. Upon Mr. Caudle’s 50th anniversary in the bakery industry and subsequent retirement in 1996, Mr. Popp Sr. named Mr. Dalo his successor as vice-president, manufacturing.
"My proudest moment was becoming vice-president and Mr. Popp Sr. taking a chance on me," Mr. Dalo said.
The success of the Coldwater plant strengthened a corporate lifestyle that has come to be known as the Aunt Millie’s way. "Coldwater made us a better company, and it’s in part because of people like Tony who don’t rest on their laurels," said Chris Popp, vice-president of human relations, Aunt Millie’s.
Mr. Dalo said John Popp constantly reinforces teamwork by making time to educate his staff on how to better understand individual department tasks and how to best communicate and work with each other.
"Tony is committed to the company," said Bohn Popp, vice-president of marketing, Aunt Millie’s.
Those values, and the efforts behind them, have helped to produce six plant managers, who Mr. Dalo described as the kingpins to Aunt Millie’s success. Four of the six managers started in the Coldwater plant, coming up through the ranks. "Coldwater taught Aunt Millie’s what it could be and what it could achieve," Mr. Dalo said.
Today, 32 of the original 36 employees remain with the Coldwater plant. In an effort to promote good communication and a strong work environment, managers are encouraged to visit other Aunt Millie’s plants, and the location of manager meetings rotate to each plant facility.
"I try to be upfront about the number of hats we all wear," Mr. Dalo said.
If all else fails, Mr. Dalo suggests more patience be applied.
"In some companies, supervisors believe in throwing new employees into the hardest job and waiting to see if they fail," Mr. Dalo said. "My philosophy is that it takes patience to find the best spot for people, and if you don’t give up on people, they will be successful."
Mr. Dalo stressed that employees who succeed are those who are educated on what they are trying to accomplish. "Education gets employees over the hump past being afraid. Once you explain the bells and alarms of the machine, it leads people to problem solving," he noted.
In turn, employees will show their managers how things can be done better because they are intimately involved in the task at hand. "Tony promotes ancillary teams and people to keep uncommon things from becoming a problem," Bohn Popp said.
Mr. Dalo also mentioned Mark Porter, senior vice-president of operations, and Joe Steele, vice-president of engineering, are integral to successful day-to-day operations.
"In my opinion, there’s no excuse to say you're too busy or rushed because there’s always time to explain and educate," Mr. Dalo said. "I want to see those qualities in my managers and know that they are making it their No. 1 priority to teach and show. It's not all about efficiency, if in the end, the result gives the right product."
While the retail baker typically experiences more contact with consumers than wholesale, Aunt Millie’s makes an extra effort to put employees into the consumers' shoes. From working rush hour at a vendor's hot dog restaurant to talking with consumers in the home environment, Aunt Millie’s staff works with customers to determine why an issue arose and how the company can fix the problem. This also translates to Mr. Dalo traveling with the company sales team, so the bakers can understand consumer desires and how to produce the best product for their needs.
Mr. Dalo said Aunt Millie’s was one of the first to use resistant starch in its products. The company is also in the process of implementing the new Global Food Safety initiatives adopted by major US retailers. As a part of its commitment to food safety, the company is in the midst of a mock audit, which will bring it into compliance by July. In the future, the company looks to intensify its presence in food service, striving for consistency in quality.
"We want to do things no one else can do, and sometimes in the experimentation, you stumble across ways to be more efficient and do things in a different way. ‘No problem' is one of my favorite phrases," Mr. Dalo said.
FULL CIRCLE. Mr. Dalo continues to practice the values learned in his family’s bakery and apply them among his ever-expanding family of employees. When asked his reaction to the award, Mr. Dalo accepted it on the behalf of his employees. "They make you who you are," he said.
