Rolling back the years with Franz Bakery

It takes special ingredients to make a business that lasts more than 100 years, but Franz Bakery certainly cracked the recipe.

For many in the Pacific Northwest and beyond, Franz is a household name. If you’re having toast for breakfast, or making a sandwich to take to work, there’s a good chance it’s with Franz bread. The iconic yellow-and-blue delivery vans certainly stand out on the road, and you can find all kinds of goodies in the company’s outlets scattered across Washington, Montana, Idaho, Utah and even Northern California. Each bite comes with a taste of history.

It all started in Portland, Oregon, with the hard work and entrepreneurial spirit of an Austrian immigrant named Engelbert Franz, who left his native land in 1896 at the age of 15 in search of the fledgling American dream. He took up work in his uncle’s bakery at East Burnside Street and Seventh Avenue, where his two brothers soon joined him.

By 1906, they had enough money to buy their own bakery in Northwest Portland; a year later, they acquired their uncle’s business. Back then, the bread was delivered by horse-drawn carriage, but that didn’t stop the family-owned enterprise from expanding into nearby cities like Salem and The Dalles.

In the late 1920s, Engelbert Franz partnered with Yaw's Top Notch Restaurant to create the 5-inch hamburger bun, which is now the standard size used around the world. Machine advancements, including a 100-foot-long oven that could churn out 2,400 loaves in 28 minutes, led to a huge boost in productivity in the late 1940s, and Franz Bakery continued its rise to prominence on grocery shelves.

Engelbert Franz died in 1954 and his son Joe was named president of the company. Their descendants still have a hand in Franz Family Bakeries, which includes Gai’s Northwest Bakeries, Seattle Sourdough & International Baking Co. and many other subsidiaries. Franz is even licensed to bake Love’s Sweet Hawaiian Rolls for mainland distribution. 

In 2006, to celebrate Franz Bakery’s centennial, staff held an event to bake a 104-foot-long hot dog bun, a Guinness World Record at the time. Over the years, Franz Bakery has given plenty of dough back to the communities it calls home, supporting local nonprofits and families through its Spirit of Giving holiday campaign. It also leads the way on sustainability efforts for the industry.

Today, the giant loaf of bread atop Franz Bakery’s sprawling headquarters in Portland’s Kerns neighborhood is a colloquial landmark, spinning through the day and shining until dawn, when the fresh-baked loaves are shipped out to stores. If you’re interested in learning more, tours are offered on the first Thursday of the month, September through June.