Maine
Maker of only commercial pizza dough made with Maine grains is expanding
CANAAN, Maine — Heather Kerner pulled her disposable shoe covers on and walked via swinging doorways into her firm’s glowing kitchen. She stopped to level out the 160-quart spiral dough mixer, a brand new piece of kit at The Good Crust that makes 350 kilos of dough directly.
Kerner’s enterprise, which produces the one commercially accessible pizza dough constituted of 100-percent Maine-sourced grains, not too long ago relocated to a producing facility at 210 Major St. in Canaan.
The Good Crust’s transfer from a shared house with The Miller’s Desk restaurant in Skowhegan to a freshly renovated facility alongside Route 2 in Canaan marks an enormous second for the small enterprise. Since its founding in September 2020 through the COVID-19 pandemic, the corporate has produced 61,000 kilos of pizza dough — and it has plans to extend its manufacturing capability nine-fold, Kerner stated. Her plans embrace increasing her product line to takeout pizzas and bialys. Tasks involving the group are within the works, too. The power will maintain its grand opening on Friday.
“With this facility being a former restaurant, we did inherit a full cooking lane that features a pizza oven,” Kerner stated. “We’re studying that the shoppers right here in Canaan and the individuals who move via on Route 2 are actually searching for a high-quality pizza to go.”
A launch date to supply takeout pizzas a couple of times per week hasn’t been set, but it surely ought to be shortly after the grand opening. The Good Crust will supply pizza substances from native farms, and perhaps some from Kerner’s homestead, akin to onions, garlic and hen.
Kerner — who has been concerned with entrepreneurship packages during the last two years, together with Dirigo Labs’ first accelerator cohort — knew early on that she must increase her firm’s kitchen house and freezer capability, she stated.
The brand new facility, positioned about six miles from the gristmill the place the substances are sourced, not too long ago changed its receiving door to suit the spiral dough mixer, and bought different tools akin to a number of dough divider and rounder machines. She changed the inside cooler with a walk-in freezer, and the corporate will set up a big freezer in its transport storage in July.
The Good Crust wanted a producing house that didn’t depend on one other restaurant’s kitchen. Now the staff has extra flexibility and independence, which it wanted to tackle new, bigger prospects, manufacturing supervisor Shawn Duffy stated. The corporate now can construct extra of its personal identification and tradition amongst workers, he stated.
Kerner’s preliminary objectives have been to inventory her freezer with a pizza dough that made for fast dinners for busy moms like herself and to assist Maine farmers and millers. Her twin sister is Amber Lambke of Maine Grains, and Kerner used The Miller’s Desk on that property as an area for recipe trials and as a pilot for her enterprise.
Kerner additionally noticed a dough firm as a platform for workforce improvement, and she or he thought it might be an answer to labor power points that companies are experiencing. She works at Regional College Unit 18, the China and Messalonskee faculty district, and makes use of grains whereas working along with her college students to show them life abilities.
“Having labored as an occupational therapist in pediatrics for my complete profession, I used to be seeing people graduate and go on lengthy ready lists for prevocational experiences,” she stated. “I actually felt it was a waste of their potential.”
Utilizing her nontraditional enterprise mannequin, Kerner has employed 12 individuals since she based The Good Crust, together with 4 who started as apprentices and related to the corporate via Goodwill Northern New England and Manpower Maine. Among the employees have bodily and cognitive disabilities, together with autism, cerebral palsy and a employee who suffered a traumatic mind harm. Others are recovering from dependancy.
“We’re type of like a small household on this enterprise,” stated Samuel Tierney, who was employed as the corporate’s first apprentice whereas he was in highschool. “As we’re all individually rising, so is the corporate. Earlier than I received this job, I didn’t actually have something.”
Tierney’s particular training trainer received him concerned with Manpower Maine, which then related him with The Good Crust, Kerner stated. Tierney additionally personally knew Kerner. It was an enormous alternative for him to accumulate work expertise and begin making his personal cash, he stated.
Kerner works one-on-one with workers who want additional route, which typically means offering lodging, akin to restricted work shifts or clear instruction on the place the model sticker belongs on a plastic bag, she stated. She additionally provides coaching in delicate abilities, together with skilled habits and the usage of timecards.
“As we develop, now we have mapped out roles for the corporate that can seemingly be crammed by social staff or occupational therapists who will likely be like job ability trainers,” she stated, noting the corporate will settle for apprentices once more as soon as the move-in course of is full.
Clockwise from left: Samuel Tierney packs pizza dough right into a field at The Good Crust’s new manufacturing facility in Canaan on Thursday. Tierney was the primary of 4 apprentices on the firm; The Good Crust sells 16-ounce parts of pizza dough at well being meals shops and farms in Maine and close by states; Aidan Clark packs frozen pizza dough into plastic luggage. Credit score: Valerie Royzman / BDN
Together with introducing takeout pizzas, The Good Crust is working to deliver 4-ounce dough balls to marketplace for bialys, Duffy stated. Bialys are bread rolls much like bagels, solely with a deep nicely and seasonings within the heart. Plans for a dry pizza dough combine that might be shipped and pre-stretched pizza rounds for hospitals are additionally within the works, Kerner stated.
She is working with state leaders in class diet to learn the way The Good Crust can be utilized in cafeterias whereas assembly whole-grain necessities, she stated. Among the companions are exploring how Maine universities can start providing the pizza dough. Style testing and knowledge assortment passed off at 11 campuses earlier this 12 months.
You will discover The Good Crust’s pizza dough at well being meals shops, farms and different locations in Maine and in close by states. Go to the web site for info.