Avalon International Breads

Avalon International Breads adheres to a triple bottom line philosophy, which it interprets as consisting of "Earth", "Community", and "Employees".[8] Firstly, it uses organic and local ingredients wherever possible while also practicing other environmentally friendly policies "at every opportunity",[8] as in the case of recycling.[1] Secondly, the bakery supports "organizations and projects that create a healthier, more vibrant Detroit",[8] from giving its leftovers to food banks to its founders' campaign to shut down the city's municipal trash incinerator.[1] Finally, the bakery pays its employees living wages while also providing them with benefits,[8] including health care, 50% for massage therapy, and "liberal" vacation time.[1] The bakery also practices open-book management, which allows its employees to access its financial information.[6]

In 2008, Avalon International Breads employed 35 people;[6] by 2012, it employed 55, including six at its Eat Well, Do Good Cafe at Henry Ford Hospital.[9] The bakery expected to add approximately 100 additional employees in 2013 to help it accommodate growth resulting from the opening of Avalon City Ovens, its new production facility, and a prospective move to a larger Midtown/Cass Corridor location on W. Canfield.[10] However, by February 2015, a move to W. Canfield had not occurred,[5] and the bakery counted a total of 56 employees.[11]

Partially due to recruiting at Detroit schools and informing neighborhood residents of available employment opportunities, 90% of the bakery's employees are residents of the city; however, Avalon City Ovens manager Kyresha LeFever notes that hiring has not always been easy, and the bakery has had "a hard time finding inner-city people that just have...a baking background or a pastry background".[11] LeFever also adds that the bakery is a very LGBT friendly employer, and that "it's a breath of fresh air to work for someone that plays such a major role in the LGBT community".[3]

The original Avalon International Breads location at 422 W. Willis in January 2015

The original Avalon International Breads bakery is located at 422 W. Willis in the Midtown/Cass Corridor neighborhood of Detroit.[5] Here, the bakery uses a traditional, Old World baking technique that involves hand-stirring its bread starter in a 260-pound (120 kg), Italian-style dough mixer and baking it in a 10,000-pound (4,500 kg), steam-injected oven.[1][3][4]

The bakery has two additional locations in Detroit: the Eat Well, Do Good Cafe at Henry Ford Hospital at 2799 W. Grand Boulevard in New Center, and Avalon City Ovens, a production facility in a former industrial warehouse at 4731 Bellevue on the city's East Side, near the Packard Automotive Plant.[5][9] Established in 2013, Avalon City Ovens features a large Italian artisan deck oven and accounts for the majority of the bakery's output, primarily serving its retail and wholesale customers.[10][12]

In 2006, Avalon International Breads recorded a net income of $60,000, which tripled to $180,000 in 2007.[6] In 2009, it generated $1.8 million in revenue, and by 2011 its revenue had increased to $2.2 million. This growth was largely driven by the expansion of the bakery's line of sweets, which grew in value from $400,000 to $975,000 over the previous 18 months, and total sales at the Eat Well, Do Good Cafe, which beat expectations and totaled over $725,000 by 2012.[13]

Since 2012, the bakery has been exploring the possibility of moving from its original location on W. Willis to a newer and larger building on nearby W. Canfield, next to the Traffic Jam & Snug restaurant;[9][12] however, as of February 2015 the bakery is still located in its original building on Willis.[5]