BIBLIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

Glicks Cakes & Bagels was founded in the late 1960's by Mr Mendel Glick, the father of the current C.E.O. when he commenced operating a Kosher retail bakery and pastry cook in the Balaclava area.

From the start, Mr Glick concentrated on servicing the Jewish community in this densely populated area, and in particular providing a comprehensive range of traditional Kosher products. The concept proved highly successful, not only in terms of building a large and loyal clientele, but also provided consist profits to the owners.

Glicks now has an enviable reputation as a retailer not only amongst the Jewish community, but in the wider community as the place to buy a wide range of pastries, breads, and associated products that have that ethnic feel.

Since 1995 the Glick family have been the sole owners of the wholesale Bakery in Dandenong Road Carnegie, and since then have transformed this part of the business in to a profitable and growing arm of the company.

The Bakery is totally a Kosher and manufactures for three distinct markets;
(a) the Retail Route Trade , (b) contract manufacturing for national brand names, and (c) the wholesale supply of Parbake products.

(a) The Route trade encompasses primarily the Jewish community, and has been serviced by Glicks for a number of years. We have built a loyal customer base in a profitable niche market.
(b) Supplying on a contract basis to national brands was commenced in late 1995, and now sees us contracted to supply such brands as Four'N'Tweny, and Buttercup. Our activity in this market segment ensure we obtain many of the advantages that accrue to volume manufacturing.
(c) The market for partially baked (Parbake) products is a growing sector of the bakery industry. Large retail outlets, smaller bakeries, catering organizations may have the facilities to bake-off, but not prepare, prove, and form many of the specialty type products. We are ideally placed to participate in this expanding market.

Glicks Cakes & Bagels Pty Ltd have a balanced spread of business activities in the Baking and Pastrycook industry and are committed to maintaining the growth of the Glick name, and building for the future.

HOW IT ALL STARTED

About 30 years ago Mr & Mrs Glick bought a little shop in Kooyong Road, Caulfield. The shop was baking cookies and a few cakes. Mr Glick, remembering the recipe for boiled bagels started baking them on Sunday mornings. He had learned this recipe from American soldiers in Germany after the 2nd World War. They taught him the secret of mixing, boiling then baking the bagels while he was on the ship travelling to Australia.

It didn't take long for the bagel trade on Sundays to catch on. The word spread at first through the Jewish community. Here was a little shop producing Kosher bagels that tasted terrific.

The next stage came as shopkeepers, milk bars and delicatessens in the area saw the value of selling bagels on Sunday mornings. They would arrive at 5.00am with boxes and Mr Glick would tell them to "come round the back and help themselves."

Bagels were being eaten mainly by the older community until a deli owner with some vision came to the shop. Mr Glick suggested he use bagels instead of rolls in his Toorak Road posh deli. And so it began, bagels were on the menu on Toorak Road.

Kooyong Road was too small and Mr Glick bought a shop in Carlisle Street, Balaclava. Shopkeepers from as far away as Preston Market came on Sunday mornings for Glicks bagels. There were no deliveries and the shop would be packed with shopkeepers, the Sunday morning tennis set, and just about anyone else trying to get Glick's delicious boiled bagels.

Someone asked Mr Glick if he could bake some bagels for a party in the middle of the week. No problem, and from there it was fresh bagels six days a week. Getting up at midnight and serving in the shop all day was taking its toll on Mr Glick's energies. With his sons either overseas or too young or in other professions, one a Barrister, one a School Principle, Mr Glick thought he would retire reluctantly and with a heavy heart he sold the shop.

But in time the partners found things were not so simple. They approached Mr Glick and asked if he would come back into the business. It seemed Glicks without Mr Glick was like having a B.B.Q. with no meat.

As the business grew, Carlisle Street became too small and a factory was purchased where the production was made. Mr Glick shared his time between baking and serving in his shop. He sent his son out to sell bagels to the food shops in the city and suburbs. Before too long this new factory was once again too small.

Carnegie was the new home of Glicks Bakery and while maintaining the retail shop at Carlisle Street, Glicks was delivering to 400 shops a day.

Mr Glick and his partners saw the future of the business advancing in different directions. A deal was done and Mr Glick bought back 100% ownership of the business.

Today, Mr Glick still works six days a week putting in 70 hours and his bagels are a household name. One of his sons runs the Wholesale division, a 45,000 square foot modern factory in Carnegie. "We make about 70,000 bagels a week" he said smiling. In keeping with the demands of the 90's, Glicks do a variety of flavours and sizes. The varieties include plain, poppy seed, sesame seed, garlic, onion, caraway & salt, blueberry, choc chip, cinnamon & raisin and wholemeal. Fully baked, par baked and snap frozen raw bagels are shipped all over Australia as well as New Zealand.

Ask Mr Glick the reason for his success, "Hard work, quality ingredients, attention to detail, an eye for the market's needs, and bending over backwards to satisfy our customers" he says smiling.