After yet another attempt at an Asylum I ended up having a mooch around the old Greggs Factory in Gosforth with TheStig, Auntie Knickers and H1971. History below, shamelessly stolen from Magpie, who I bumped into for the first time today and shit my pants thinking he was a guard on patrol at our first location. Enjoy!
In the 1930's, John Gregg started delivering eggs and yeast on his pushbike to families in Newcastle Upon Tyne and Greggs the bakers was born... After more than 10 years of delivering yeast and eggs to local families so they could bake their own bread, John Gregg opened a small bakery on Gosforth High Street in 1951 . With a single shop and bakery at the rear, Greggs began to bake superb quality bread, using flour milled from specially selected wheat for that distinctive Greggs taste and texture.
Following the death of his father, Ian Gregg took over the family business in 1964. Under Ian's leadership, Greggs developed a reputation for good quality and great value. Greggs also began to grow by acquiring regional bakery retailers across the UK and by the 1970s there were shops in Scotland, Yorkshire and the North West.
The expansion of the company was well underway by 1984, when we had more than 260 shops in four main areas of the country. For the first time ever, Greggs was on the Stock Exchange and we continued to expand, opening shops in the Midlands, Wales and North London.
By the 1990s competition was strong as supermarkets began to make their mark in the bakery market. But we continued to focus on our strengths, developing fresh, quality food-on-the-go at great value prices.
During the 2000s Greggs continued to grow rapidly. Investment in a large Technical Centre allowed us to focus on developing exciting new recipes and improving old favourites - making the quality and choice of freshly baked food in our shops even better than ever.
Today, Greggs has nearly 1,600 shops, but we're not stopping there. We plan to open 600 new shops over the next few years. And, although we're a national business, we're rooted in our local communities. That means, as well as our national range, we also enjoy selling much loved regional specialities.
In the 1930's, John Gregg started delivering eggs and yeast on his pushbike to families in Newcastle Upon Tyne and Greggs the bakers was born... After more than 10 years of delivering yeast and eggs to local families so they could bake their own bread, John Gregg opened a small bakery on Gosforth High Street in 1951 . With a single shop and bakery at the rear, Greggs began to bake superb quality bread, using flour milled from specially selected wheat for that distinctive Greggs taste and texture.
Following the death of his father, Ian Gregg took over the family business in 1964. Under Ian's leadership, Greggs developed a reputation for good quality and great value. Greggs also began to grow by acquiring regional bakery retailers across the UK and by the 1970s there were shops in Scotland, Yorkshire and the North West.
The expansion of the company was well underway by 1984, when we had more than 260 shops in four main areas of the country. For the first time ever, Greggs was on the Stock Exchange and we continued to expand, opening shops in the Midlands, Wales and North London.
By the 1990s competition was strong as supermarkets began to make their mark in the bakery market. But we continued to focus on our strengths, developing fresh, quality food-on-the-go at great value prices.
During the 2000s Greggs continued to grow rapidly. Investment in a large Technical Centre allowed us to focus on developing exciting new recipes and improving old favourites - making the quality and choice of freshly baked food in our shops even better than ever.
Today, Greggs has nearly 1,600 shops, but we're not stopping there. We plan to open 600 new shops over the next few years. And, although we're a national business, we're rooted in our local communities. That means, as well as our national range, we also enjoy selling much loved regional specialities.
