Schmidt Baking Company is a

bakery A bakery is an establishment that produces and sells flour-based baked goods made in an oven such as bread, cookies, cakes, doughnuts, bagels, Pastry, pastries, and pies. Some retail bakeries are also categorized as Coffeehouse, cafés, servi ...

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, U.S. The company makes Schmidt's Blue Ribbon and Schmidt's Old Tyme Breads and, as a

licensee A licensee can mean the holder of a license or, in U.S. tort law, is a person who is on the property of another, despite the fact that the property is not open to the general public, because the owner of the property has allowed the licensee to en ...

of the Quality Bakers of America Cooperative, bakes and distributes Sunbeam Bread in its territory. It was founded in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

, in 1886 by Elizabeth and Peter Schmidt at their house using recipes from their native

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. The company now has more than 800 employees and makes several varieties of bread, most prominently

white bread White bread typically refers to breads made from wheat flour from which the bran and the germ layers have been removed from the whole wheatberry as part of the flour grinding or milling process, producing a light-colored flour. Nutrition Wh ...

. Its 1970s and 1980s advertising

jingle A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meanings that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually ...

was "I like bread and butter, I like toast and jam, I like Schmidt's Blue Ribbon Bread, It's my favorite brand", which was derived from

The Newbeats The Newbeats were a 1960s American pop vocal trio, led by Larry Henley. They are best remembered for their hits " Bread and Butter" and " Run, Baby Run". Members The group's members were: * Larry Henley (born Lawrence Joel Henley, June 30, 1937 ...

1964

song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

, " Bread and Butter". There was a major fire at an empty building owned by the company on Fitch Lane in

Fullerton, Maryland Fullerton is an unincorporated community (part of northern Overlea) in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The area is often considered part of Nottingham, despite being part of Overlea. Fullerton residents have either 21236 o ...

, in April 2008. In 1941, the company was cited by the

National Labor Relations Board The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States that enforces United States labor law, U.S. labor law in relation to collect ...

for failing to engage in collective bargaining with its employees. The company sponsored the

Preakness Stakes The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held annually on Armed Forces Day, the third Saturday in May at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland (except in 2026 when it will move to Laurel Park (race track), Laurel Park dur ...

pre-race

parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...

in Baltimore for three years. In 1996, the company was the subject of an

IRS The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting Taxation in the United States, U.S. federal taxes and administerin ...

lawsuit A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today ...

regarding when vacation pay and

severance pay Severance may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Severance'' (film), a 2006 British horror film * ''Severance'' (novel), a 2018 novel by Ling Ma *''Severance'', a 2006 short-story collection by Robert Olen Butler * ''Severance'' (TV series), ...

can be considered

deferred compensation Deferred compensation is an arrangement in which a portion of an employee's wage is paid out at a later date after which it was earned. Examples of deferred compensation include pensions, retirement plans, and employee stock options. The primary ...

by a company in its

tax return A tax return is a form on which a person or organization presents an account of income and circumstances, used by the tax authorities to determine liability for tax. Tax returns are usually processed by each country's tax authority, known as ...

s. The resulting ruling on this case was used in proposed changes to the law. In 2012 Schmidt acquired the rights to Holsum and Milano in Harrisburg and Scranton from

Bimbo Bakeries USA Bimbo Bakeries USA, Inc. () is the American corporate arm of the Mexican multinational corporation, multinational bakery product manufacturing company Grupo Bimbo. It is the largest bakery company in the United States. The subsidiary, headquarte ...

. Regional bakers approved to purchase Bimbo brands
/ref> During an Early January 2022 winter storm in Virginia when travelers were trapped in their cars, some for more than 24 hours, a driver hauling bread for Schmidt was asked to open the truck and distribute the bread to drivers stranded on the highway.

References

External links

Schmidt Baking Company
*{{HAER , survey=MD-80 , id=md1230 , title=Schmidt Baking Company, 1301 Laurens Street, Baltimore, Independent City, MD , photos=14 , data=41 , cap=1 Bakeries of the United States Manufacturing companies based in Baltimore American companies established in 1886 Retail companies established in 1886 German-American culture in Baltimore Historic American Engineering Record in Baltimore Food and drink companies established in 1886 1886 establishments in Maryland

See also

References

External links