In 1988 Craig and Dawn Saxton decided to start their own business. At the time, Craig worked in foodservice management; Dawn, in retail management. Their goal was to create a successful foodservice operation serving the great food Dawn created in her home kitchen, make it fresh everyday, and serve it efficiently in a pleasant environment. An underlying goal was to create a successful business based on limited operating hours, allowing themselves and their future employees a more balanced work week.

The culmination of their quest was the opening of the first Specialty's Cafe & Bakery in San Francisco's financial district on March 15, 1988. Nestled within an 800 square foot retail space in a high-rise office complex, Craig and Dawn and five employees started baking and selling breads, pastries, cookies, handmade sandwiches and fresh salads. With limited capital, used equipment, no sign, while operating limited hours, by the end of the first year their annualized sales volume was in excess of $1 million.

Today, after 18-years of successful operation, Specialty's Cafe & Bakery is a highly respected foodservice company with 16 bakery-cafes in the San Francisco and Seattle markets. The typical Specialty's Cafe & Bakery is located in an urban business district or suburban business center, and operates 5-days per week during the morning, noontime and afternoon hours. Most locations target takeout and delivery customers and feature limited seating. The focus is the food: fresh baked breads, cookies and pastries, plus handmade sandwiches, homemade soups and fresh salads.

Each location features an exhibition bakery, where fresh bread, pastries, and cookies are mixed and baked from scratch. The aroma of fresh-baked breads and Specialty's' legendary chocolate chip cookies creates a unique, brand-building environment. On a daily basis, Dawn continues to personally oversee recipe development, product implementation, and food quality. Customers consistently rate food quality and flavor as the number one reason they prefer Specialty's.

In 2003, Specialty's expanded its catering business following the acquisition of SandwichDirect.com and its state-of-the art software applications that dramatically facilitate the ordering, payment, preparation and delivery of business and personal catering orders.

Not surprisingly, the 5-day workweek has proven to be a competitive edge in recruiting, hiring, and retaining hourly employees and store-level managers. In addition, competition for the type of limited-market retail space that Specialty's thrives in is often less competitive and less expensive than mainstream retail sites. In many cases, office and business park developers consider foodservice an amenity to their project and provide significant funds for tenant improvements.

Today, Specialty's has seventeen stores in San Francisco, Seattle, San Jose and Chicago. Our newest store at 2580 North 1st Street combines our famous made-from-scratch bakery with a warm comfortable dining and lounge area. It's typical of our newer stores with online ordering kiosks, wireless internet access, ample seating inside and a lovely outdoor patio.

Over the past 18 years of measured growth and careful refinement of the Specialty's Cafe & Bakery concept, Craig and Dawn and their proven management team have demonstrated a level of value-based leadership and quality only talked about in most companies. The result of this careful, personal stewardship is a company with superior values and exceptional results.

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