Have you ever heard of Mike Rayburn? He is the hilarious guitarist Great Harvest brought in for our morning and evening entertainment (you know, to get the audience all enthusiastic!). He’s kind of like Weird Al meets Brad Paisley. Totally talented and hilarious lyrics!
I laughed the whole time : ) LOVE the Beatles at 6:38 in this video!
Also think it’s funny whenever them mention blogs at these events – it’s like I have a secret inside!
I went to a session by the Anchorage, Alaska store (the most successful in sales store in the system) that was very helpful to remind me of parts of our store we need to work on. And then another on simple things to do to increase sales – I have a long to-do list to work on!
Then LUNCH! Breakfast held me over much better today, but by 12:30 I was starving again. I couldn’t wait to dig into this sandwich buffet with GREAT HARVEST BREAD!
Plus a salad bar and toppings galore
I made a mustard, swiss cheese and pickle sandwich on Asiago Sourdough and my gosh this was so amazing! It was a half sandwich, so I went back for a second smaller one! Maybe I’m just now entering my pregnancy pickle craving!?
I also made a roll with some Naturally Nutty Almond Butter! Shared this with Matt.
And a big salad – with beans!!
We ate lunch with the The Cunninghams of the McMinnville, Oregon Great Harvest. I told them all about Cville Cluster granola and we want to know if any of you are local to McMinnville and would be interested in getting it locally from them (probably sold under another clustery name). Anyone live nearby?
Dessssert
Shared a pecan bar + lemon bar with Matt. I think I’m over dessert with lunch – it just makes me too full!
After lunch we browsed the vendor hall, which was so much more useful this year now that we actually have a bakery to stock.
And ended with a sip of this, which I loved. We’re hoping to add these to our drink cooler
Now about that beach walk…………!!
{ 90 comments… read them below or add one }
yumm. i’d go crazy with all of those fabulous breads and sandwich fixins! i’m always a sucker for delicious bread.
Didn’t know there was a GH in McMinneville! Good to know. I’m about 45 min away but drive through there every month or so on the way the my friend’s beach house. I’ll have to stop by and get stuff for my husband and kids (I’m GF so no more bread for me).
Also just had to add that we were at the Del in November and I found that same candy store. It was so fun to pick out treats for my kids.
Hi Leslie-
My husband Bill & I own the GH in McMinnville and want to let you know that we also bake Gluten Free breads & sweets… so you won’t miss out! Hope to see you soon! :0)
So jealous of your eats! That has to be one of the best catered events I have seen lately! And <3 Naked Juice! It's really good frozen in an ice cream machine also. Instant Sorbet!
Kath- just received my granola today- I am so beyond excited! Hands down my fav granola ever. I have a question for you- I plan on being greedy and not sharing… can I put the extra bags in the freezer or do they stay fresh for a long time?
I haven’t froze it myself, but I believe other readers have with luck. It’s sealed so it should keep pretty fresh
Ahhh I LOVE lemon bars! When I was little I would get one everytime we had dessert somewhere with lemon bars! I remember getting them all the time at Bagel & Bagel (now Einstein Bros)
Oh WOW looks beyond awesome! I am actually really hungry now!!
All the food looked amazing and what a pretty picture of the beach!
love green machine!
Every time I see all the amazing-ness that is other Great Harvests, I cannot help but be peeved at the one near my house (in Spokane). They’re ok I guess. I think they cater to the unhealthy preferences that abound here which I can’t really fault them for, they are running a business! I just wish they’d do their healthier items better and with more gusto!
I was just thinking the SAME thing!! Didn’t know there was another Spokane KERF reader! I still get their bread sometimes, but when I see the awesome sandwiches and other goodies Kath makes at her GH I am jealous!
That is too funny! Good to hear I’m not just being picky and someone else has the same opinion
I’m pretty jealous of this convention! It looks like such yummy food (& sweets)!
Oh my gosh too much good food!!! Ahhh i’d be in bread heaven
Okay I want bread….NOW! That looks seriously awesome. Enjoy the beach!!
I am so jealous of all your yummy eats these past few days! All of the bread and desserts look so yummy
Enjoy the beach walk! It finally got sunny here! Still not real warm, but at least the sun is out
kath- have you met/talked to anyone from the great harvest in westerville, ohio? thats my store! and those naked drinks are evvverywhere on my college campus and are the drink of choice of pretty much everyone {well, at least the under 21 crowd
}
I haven’t met them yet, no
One of the reasons I love your blog so much is because of your connection to Great Harvest Bread Co. I used to live in Anchorage and some of my favorite memories from living there are going to the Great Harvest with my mom! Anytime I walk into a Great Harvest store it brings me back to Anchorage so it’s so cool that you saw that store represented at the banquet! Thanks for a fun post that’s helping me reminisce on those times!
I live outside of Anchorage (in Palmer) but I hit up GH nearly every time I go there. Usually I get 4 loaves which lasts us – spread out – for a couple months. They recently remodeled the store, and it looks sooo much nicer. Glad to hear that they have the top sales.
I also grew up going to the Anchorage Great Harvest. We once won a year’s supply of bread at a school auction- that was an awesome year, to pick a loaf of bread every other week
My in-laws live near the McMinnville GH and we stop in whenever we visit. Granola would be awesome!
Anchorage is quite impressive!!
i’ll eat your lunch dessert.
San Diego is awesome! Great restaurants! If you have a car, you must go to The Blind Lady Ale House. Amazing beer (sorry Kath!), but their pizza and truffle fries are a must!
sadness for me, but I’m sure Matt would love it!
That Asiago Sourdough looks delicious! In my opinion that is the PERFECT sandwich bread!
I think any excuse for dessert with lunch is a good one
My favorite Naked juice — I’m afraid if we carried them I would drink them every day. Ah, the beach! Hope it’s an amazing stroll 
and an equally amazing evening. Enjoy!
Just hung out with Karl!
Kath, do you know the Austin, TX GH owners? They need your granola recipe!!!
No, haven’t met them yet either!
You should definitely stock the green machine drinks at GH! They are so good. Also- I have to tell you how much I love your bakery. I moved to Cville for law school and I stumbled upon the bakery while shopping at circa for apartment stuff. I LOVE the Tofu and Pesto Sandwich. I didn’t discover your blog until after I had discovered the bakery… such a nice coincidence!
Thanks Caroline! Hope to meet you there soon!
Weird Al meets Brad Paisley sounds like one amazing show! They certain seem to know how to entertain (and feed) franchisees well!
I don’t know why but it strikes me as odd that Alaska is tops for sales. I guess they need more bread to stay warm!
Mmmm that lunch looks delicious!! Love me some good bread and toppings!
Please kiss the creator of Apple Crunch Bread for me. Seriously! YUMMMM!
If we got green machines at the bakery, you would have to hide them from me or I would drink them all…..
seriously.
Hahaha. We’d have to lock them up!
I never would have thought an Alaskan store would be the most successful in sales. Interesting.
The beach/ocean looks beautiful. Enjoy!
Hah, Olive Garden didn’t think we had enough people for them to open a restaurant here – they’ve been packed every day since they opened. Alaskans travel long distances to get what they want. There are very few bakeries in Anchorage, and few to none in the remote areas.
I’ve just started reading your blog and its fascinating to get a sneak peak on the “behind the scenes” of Great Harvest. We buy our bread at a local one and something I’ve mentioned to them and will mention now is to not limit your the good samples to just adults. Ours started the annoying habit of offering only the whole wheat breadsticks to children and its too bad. At least in our family our kids help us with a lot of buying decisions (“mooooooooooommmmmmmmm, I want the pesto bread this week!”) and its a shame they can’t sample new & exciting flavors. Not that the breadsticks are bad, they just aren’t nearly as exciting & fun for the kids. (I’ll hop off my tiny little soapbox now!)
Oh no! Everyone in our store gets a honkin’ slice!
[I wonder if they didn't mean it in a limiting way but just a fun thing for kids to hold?]
Awesome!
No, the gal was REALLY grouchy about it and I ended up having to give my daughter the fun slice. Boo-hoo for me!! Needless to say we found another GH to buy our good bread from and let the girls sample any slice they want.
That made me want a sandwich really bad! Those bars look so yummy too. Looks like such a neat event for all you franchisees!
Tell the Cunninghams I’m a Linfield alum! Sadly, I rarely make it back to get to the GH there.
Oh fun – I will!
Yummy lunch spread! So many great options! Love it when you can build your own sandwich and salad! The beach looks inviting…looks like a nice day for a romantic walk on the beach!
I’m close-ish to McMinnville but don’t get up there too often. Luckily we have our own GH in Eugene. You should spread the granola gospel to as many stores as possible!
Love Naked juices – my fav is Blue Machine. Enjoy the beach!
Hey Kath, I live in Portland and go to the GH in my area but would drive over to McMinnville to get some of your granola (well and to go to Boersma’s Sewing Center and Knitting Basket). I also love the Naked Juice and have some of the Green Machine each morning. They have a fruit juice and oat smoothie coming out soon that I am super excited to try.
I’ll pass on the message!
I was going to ask if Oregon was represented at the convention. McMinnville is a little far from where I live but might be willing to drive for that yummy granola! There are actually 3 other GH’s between me and the Cunninghams. I had been wondering if you would share your recipe with another GH store.
Yeah! It’s actually not even our recipe – GH Warrenton invented it, and you can tell your owners that it’s on the Breadboard as Lynda’s Granola
enjoy that walk, miss the ocean!
The food looks great! Have fun at the beach!
I wanted to ask you how many tablespoons of nut butter, do you consider to be part of a healthy diet? I eat 2-3T per day…I stay within my calories I just don’t want to be over doing it with nut butters even though it is healthy fat…too much isn’t good either.
Thanks!! Enjoy your time in San Diego
I think 2-3 sounds perfectly fine
Your bread posts are so lovely. In fact, I literally just went to Whole Foods to pick up some gluten-free stuff, the closest I can come to the delightful treats you post here. The Boulder GH carries gfree bread too – so good!
YES! Finally, it looks like you have the perfect weather you guys deserve! Man that salad looks good, now I’m cravin’ chickpeas!
Love the dessert spread!
Sounds like a great day! A loaded salad bar wins me over every time! Dang that looks like an incredible spread of eats!
I can’t get over all the amazing food!
That looks like quite the spread of food!! And it all looks delicious, too! Usually there are one or two duds in a buffet.
I had a Swiss + pickle sandwich for breakfast yesterday!! Pickles are so delish. All of the food looks so fresh and yummy, I would have probably had thirds and fourths, lol.
How funny, I had just a ‘sip’ of Green Machine today also! While babysitting. The little girl calls it her “smoothie” and asks for it all the time. I had to try it! This would be great thing to have in your Bakery Cooler!
Kath- your blog is so great! I look forward to each and every one of your posts. It must be exhausting to update so frequently, especially when you are pregnant and at a convention. I just want you to know your loyal readers LOVE YOU for it!!
Thanks Christine!
BAH I grew up near McMinnville and would TOTALLY drive out there to get some granola when I go out to visit my mom!!! So cool that they’re considering making it, please convince them!!!
This convention keeps getting better- love a full salad buffet like that!
AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH I’M LOCAL I’M LOCAL!!!! I live just 15 min from McMinnville and would soooo go get granola!!!!
Hahaha – awesome!!! The owners are checking KERF for interest
My college is in McMinnville! I would absolutely love to try the granola, I’ve been envious for months!
I love these type of conventions. I went to a “Real Food Convention” in Santa Cruz two weekends ago. It’s awesome to get reinspired, network and eat delicious foods.
I wish I could try those food. Rice is the staple here but sometimes I get tired of rice so sandwiches are my next thing
Oh my goodness – that is some spread right there. I dont think I could have chosen what I wanted!
And I hear you about dessert with lunch – I’m usually the same way but my oh my that pecan bar looks GOOD!
Lunch looks delicious!
Anyone heard anything about a GH opening in Houston? I am so surprised we dont have ONE yet?!!!
They used to have one in Houston! On FM1960 almost by Veterans Memorial. . . it closed down though.
The next closest one is Woodlands.
I cant believe the 4th largest city doesnt have one! i am dying to try it- wish Kath and Matt would ship other items besides granola- hint hint
First comment ever on the blog, finally.
So I went to a Great Harvest in Greensboro, NC, because I read your blog and I was so disappointed! It was really small, dirty and there was no yummy baked goods or even a menu. I am from WV btw. Are all Great Harvest stores different?
So sorry jamie. They are all different and the owners are in charge of all the decisions, so maybe they are going through some tough times
LOVE Naked Juice Green Machines…lotta sugar, but a delicious way to get fruits and veggies in a hurry or on the go…
Glad you got to come out here to Cali!
I’ve never tried those green juices by Naked. How did you like them compared to green monsters?
My hometown is Anchorage, Alaska and I grew up going to the Great Harvest there! It used to be the supplier of bread/rolls for most of our holiday dinners. We didn’t know there were other locations for the longest time until we saw one in CA! Have you ever been to Anchorage or Alaska Kath?
I haven’t been to Alaska but id love to go!
I think you really enjoy the activity. You’re not only learning but also your enjoying the foods and the beautiful places there right? And also I like the way you make your salad, it looks delicious. Do you want to go back there?
The beach looks glorious!
http://faithfulsolutions.blogspot.com/
I’m from McMinnville and love the owners! Sorry this is a bit late, but YES, I am very interested!
Kath, I’ve never commented on any of your posts before but I’ve been reading for about three months now and love it! Thanks so much!
We’re feeling the love here in McMinnville- OR! :0) Thanks to you all for the feedback- I will put the granola recipe on the front burner (not literally!) so check back with us!
Kath- it was great meeting you & Matt at the convention… Congrats to you on your new adventures and take good care- talk soon.
Hey guys! It was great meeting you, and sounds like you have some interested granola lovers!