ACE bakery sold to U.S. company

April 11, 2008, Toronto – The owners of ACE Bakery, one of Toronto’s
best-known and best-loved bakeries, have sold the business to Glencoe
Capital, a Chicago-based private equity firm.

April 11, 2008, Toronto – The owners of ACE Bakery, one of Toronto’s best-known and best-loved bakeries, have sold the business to Glencoe Capital, a Chicago-based private equity firm.
Husband and wife team Martin Connell and Linda Haynes started the business 15 years ago on King Street West, turning a hobby for bread and bread-making into a very successful business with some 300 employees and sales of close to $50 million.
"It was about time to move on,” Haynes told the Toronto Star. "We're thrilled with the company (Glencoe) and we don't think anything is going to change."
Besides having a sense for business, Connell and Haynes also had a heart for community, contributing a portion of ACE profits to Calmeadow, an organization the duo formed to help micro-enterprises in developing countries. Once Calmeadow became self-sufficient, 10 per cent of ACE profits continued to go towards funding community food banks and kitchens, along with scholarships for cooking and baking, and assistance for organic farmers. It’s not clear if Glencoe will continue the charitable donations.
Connell says he’ll now focus his attention entirely on the Toronto Community Foundation, where he is chairman of the board, while Haynes will focus her immediate attention on finishing a cookbook she’s working on with her 26-year-old daughter. She’ll also stay on as a consultant to ACE in marketing and recipe development.
ACE president and CEO Philip Shaw will stay on in that capacity, as will all the other employees.