John Gates

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Bio

Nashoba Brook Bakery opened for business on September 11, 1998 in an old warehouse in Concord, Massachusetts on the banks of the Nashoba Brook, a tributary of the Assabet River. The owners John Gates and Stuart Witt - dreamed about and planned for that day for more than a year. For several years, Stu had worked for a successful artisan bread company in Burlington, Vermont. John had just completed law school at the University of Virginia, but decided to forego plans to be an environmental advocate and join Stu instead in a burst of entrepreneurial energy.

But the story really begins with a friendship. John and Stu were close friends in high school. Though they went their separate ways after graduating, they stayed in touch and John became a big fan of the breads Stu was creating in Vermont. On several occasions, the two talked casually about going into business together. One day Stu called John and said, Do you remember how we talked about starting a bread business? Well, I'm ready. John thought hard for at least one day before he called Stu back and said, let's do it.

Stu and John spent hours over the next year philosophizing about bread, about life and about the opportunity to create a business that had meaning beyond the endless daily grind that consumes so many lives. From the beginning, they committed to starting a business that would take care of its employees, and give back to the community, while at the same time creating a space for people to meet, to talk and to organize around important social, cultural and political issues.

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14 years 30 weeks