Eagle-Tribune - Methuen Bakery Needs Room to Grow

News Article

Local customers may know George's Bakery as a place to pick up fresh bread, meat pies and tabbouleh. On Tuesday morning, plenty of hungry patrons milled around the modest storefront, surveying the selection of Mediterranean treats.

But much of the business at George's goes on behind the scenes at the 28,500-square-foot building, where a large scale-production facility churns out five flavors of tahini, a paste made from sesame seeds found in hummus or sometimes used as a spread on its own. Whole Foods and Market Basket recently began carrying the tahini, dubbed Sesame King.

In the basement, a complex assembly line made up of mixers, ovens and cooling racks produces George's breads, which are shipped to restaurants as nearby as Lowell and as far away as Bangor, Maine.

More companies are clamoring for products, owner Emile Maroun says, including Sabra, the country's largest manufacturer of hummus. But Maroun is running out of room.

"Without an expansion, there is no space to grow," Maroun said, "We have to expand, or we're going to go out of business."

Maroun made his case to Methuen Mayor Stephen Zanni and Congresswoman Niki Tsongas, D-Lowell, as they toured his building Tuesday. Merrimack Valley Chamber of Commerce President and Chief Operating Officer Joe Bevilacqua coordinated the meeting because he is hoping to keep George's in Methuen, he said. The family owns property in two other states and has considered a move to Oklahoma, Maroun said.

The family already has purchased two lots adjacent to their 26 Spruce St. location, but contaminated land stands between the Marouns and their vision of a 60,000-square-foot, three-floor expansion they envision. Mayor Stephen Zanni said the land immediately outside of the George's Bakery building was contaminated decades ago by a gas or oil company that used to be there. State regulations dictate that the site must be cleaned before it can be built on, Zanni said.

Maroun's wife, Georgette, and three children staff the bakery and factory each day. Maroun's father-in-law started the company in Lawrence in the early 1900s. When he passed away, Georgette and Emile Maroun moved to the United States from Lebanon to take over the business. They moved their business from Lawrence to Methuen in 2001.

Maroun said between the two companies -- George's Bakery and Sunshine International Foods, Inc., the factory portion of the business -- they have just over 20 employees on staff.

That's not enough, the family says. With an expansion of the facility, the family also hopes to expand the staff to include a sales and marketing team.

Right now, those responsibilities fall to George Maroun and Emile Maroun, Jr. The brothers were in New York City for a convention and made their way back to Methuen overnight Monday to help run the business Tuesday.

"We're upstairs (in the store). We're down here (in the plant). We're everywhere. We do everything, but where do I put more employees?" George Maroun questioned. "We don't have office space."

Tsongas said she was impressed by the facility and the family's innovation in "taking advantage of changing food habits" and the prevalence of Mediterranean foods on the market today.

"It makes the hard work real," she said of visiting local businesses. "It's the strong family work ethic that makes this all possible."

Source