The Great American Bagel Bakery

The Great American Bagel Bakery is an American bagel and bakery restaurant brand established in 1987. The company was founded by Wayne Flately and is based in Westmont, Illinois. Its business model combines the production and sale of bagels and other bakery items with franchised restaurant operations. The brand began franchising in 1994. The expansion effort received assistance from Pat Ross, the retired founder and president of Rax Restaurants, bringing experienced restaurant-franchise expertise to the company's development. This franchising phase represents the principal documented turning point in the brand's history, shifting it from a company established around a bakery-restaurant concept toward a geographically distributed foodservice network. The Great American Bagel Bakery operates in the United States and has been reported as having 52 locations across 12 states. Its offering is centered on bagels and bakery products, with the restaurant format likely supporting prepared foodservice around those core items. Publicly available reference material does not provide a complete menu, detailed store formats, financial results, ownership history, executive roster, or a confirmed official website, so those elements remain unspecified here. The brand occupies a focused position within the American quick-service and bakery-cafe sector. Rather than presenting itself as a broad full-service restaurant group, it is identified primarily with bagels and related baked goods. Its franchised structure allows the concept to operate across multiple U.S. markets while retaining a distinct bagel-led identity. No evidence in the supplied reference material indicates international operations, public listing, a parent conglomerate, major acquisitions, product recalls, lawsuits, or other notable controversies.

The Great American Bagel Bakery was established in 1987 in the United States by Wayne Flately. The available historical record identifies the business as a privately owned restaurant franchise and places its base in Westmont, Illinois. From its beginning, the brand was organized around bagels and bakery products, giving it a narrower product identity than a general-purpose restaurant chain. A significant development occurred in 1994, when the company began franchising. Pat Ross, described as the retired founder and president of Rax Restaurants, assisted with this step. His involvement connected The Great American Bagel Bakery's expansion with prior experience in restaurant operations and franchising, although the supplied sources do not specify the precise structure or duration of his role. Franchising enabled the brand to extend beyond a single local operation and establish locations in multiple U.S. states. The company has subsequently been reported as operating 52 locations across 12 states. The available material does not provide a year for that location count, nor does it document changes in the number of units over time. The brand's publicly documented business remains concentrated in the United States. It is characterized as privately owned, with no reported stock-market listing, ticker, parent company, or publicly identified corporate group. The supplied references do not provide detailed information about revenue, employment, supply-chain arrangements, store-level formats, menu development, advertising campaigns, acquisitions, or international expansion. They also do not identify notable litigation, product recalls, regulatory actions, or other scandals. Accordingly, the documented history is best understood as the story of a specialized American bagel and bakery concept that expanded through franchising after its 1987 founding.

• 1994

  Franchising begins

  [1]The Great American Bagel Bakeryen.wikipedia.org

  The company began franchising with assistance from Pat Ross, the retired founder and president of Rax Restaurants.

• 1987

  Brand established

  [1]The Great American Bagel Bakeryen.wikipedia.org

  Wayne Flately established The Great American Bagel Bakery as an American bagel and bakery restaurant business.

A U.S. franchised bakery-restaurant brand focused on bagels and related baked goods, positioned within the quick-service and bakery-cafe market.

• Core bakery and restaurant product · 1987

  Bagels

  Bagels are the brand's defining product category and the central basis of its restaurant identity. The available reference material identifies the company as a bagel-focused bakery and restaurant franchise, but does not provide a documented list of flavors, sizes, preparation methods, fillings, or nutritional information.

• Bakery and foodservice products · 1987

  Bakery products

  The brand also sells related bakery products through its restaurant locations. Publicly available source material does not specify the complete assortment or distinguish which items are available across all stores, so this category is documented broadly rather than as a detailed menu listing.

• 1994

  Adoption of a franchising strategyStrategy

  Background

  After operating since its 1987 establishment, the company moved into franchising in 1994 to support the expansion of its bagel and bakery restaurant concept.

  Action taken

  The Great American Bagel Bakery began offering franchise opportunities, with assistance from Pat Ross, a retired founder and president of Rax Restaurants.

  Aftermath

  The brand developed a multi-state U.S. network and was later reported to have 52 locations in 12 states. The source material does not provide a precise chronology for that growth.

  Source

1. 1The Great American Bagel Bakeryen.wikipedia.org