ABOUT US
A Fresh Start
Jim and Ruth Metz, Great Harvest Bakery Cafe Owners
Beaver Dam has been a great place to raise our
kids and grow our business. Once our children were grown and we were able
to step away from the day to day responsibilities of running our business, we
realized the importance of helping Beaver Dam continue to be a great place to
raise children and for local entrepreneurs to start and grow a business. Downtown Beaver Dam was the obvious place to
start. After getting involved with Downtown Beaver Dam Inc. (DBDI) and researching
effective methods of revitalizing a struggling “Main Street,” we decided to
invest in revitalizing some buildings and help attract and start businesses
that would make a positive impact and be a catalyst to further improvements and
growth.
When a home brewer visited Beaver Dam
interested in opening a craft brewery, we had the opportunity to start OOGA
Brewing Company with our head brewer, Jeff Scanlan and Sarah Ferree, a
“home-grown brewer.” We helped their dreams come true and helped energize
South Spring Street.
We visited a Great Harvest Bakery and Café in
downtown Oconomowoc and thought, “Wow! This would be great to have in Beaver
Dam!” The Great Harvest franchise offers proven recipes and a successful
business strategy while allowing the freedom to “be local.” Visits to other Great Harvest locations just
confirmed the amazing product quality and level of customer service, and we
committed to opening a bakery café in Beaver Dam. The old Kornely/Newton
Wenz building seemed to be the perfect place. Natalie Haushalter manages the business side of
things. Besides phenomenal bread, goodies and sandwiches, we hope Great
Harvest will be a positive impact in the community, bringing people and more
businesses downtown.
We also hope to support area residents and
organizations that are in need. Beaver
Dam is an amazingly supportive community with many organizations and nonprofits
helping to make this a welcoming, caring and safe place to live. We are
strong supporters of PAVE, helping victims of abuse and children, often at the
lowest point in their lives, turn their lives around to a life of dignity and a
positive, productive future. While Beaver Dam has a strong arts
community, we would like to see it expand further and for downtown to become
universally known for its arts and entertainment offerings, attracting visitors
to enjoy live theater, art galleries and classes, dining and boutique shopping.
Our Great Harvest looks like no other Great Harvest out there. We operate under a “Freedom Franchise.” The “Freedom” part means that we get to run our business in a way that meets our community’s unique needs. The “Franchise” part gives us access to the recipes and processes that Great Harvest has continuously improved for over three decades. The result is breads and sweets that will knock your socks off!
Thanks for stopping by, we’re glad you came!
Great Harvest Bakery Cafe of Beaver Dam
WE'D LOVE TO BE IN TOUCH WITH YOU
