Collin Street Bakery
Encyclopedia
The Collin Street Bakery is in Corsicana
, and is world renown for its delicious DeLuxe Fruitcakes. They ship to all 50 states, US possessions and 195 foreign lands.
The Bakery is the proud recipient of the president's coveted "E-Award".
, Germany
. With the help of local entrepreneur Tom McElwee, the bakery soon outgrew its original building, and required a new one in which the second floor was turned into a hotel. Celebrities such as Enrico Caruso and Will Rogers
were sighted at the bakery, and in 1914 the Ringling Brothers Circus
passed through town and ordered dozens of fruitcakes as Christmas
gifts to be mailed to friends and family across the globe. In this way, the bakery entered the mail-order business. Lee W. McNutt, Harry Cook and Bob Rutherford purchased the bakery from Mr. Wiedmann in 1946.
Princess Caroline also places and annual order ... continuing her mother, Princess Grace's tradition of a Christmas DeLuxe for their family and friends. Hilton Hotels are a long time customer, as is Master Builders, S.A. of Brussels, Belgium. Also counted in the above group is Madison Square Gardens and the famous Vanna White. The company rejected an order from Iran's
Ayatollah Khomeini following the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis. The DeLuxe Fruitcake is shipped to ever nation you can name except Cuba and the country just mentioned.
The majority of orders are placed by mail and during a three-month period, October through November.
Despite the heavy demand, the bakery does not have a distributor, but sells its branded goods only at its 2 Corsicana stores and new location in Waco, and through mail-order. In the past some specialty Supermarkets, such as the defunct Amarraca in Pittsburgh's North Hills, have sold a private label version of the fruitcake.
Corsicana, Texas
Corsicana is a city in Navarro County, Texas, United States. It is located on Interstate 45 some fifty-five miles south of downtown Dallas. The population was 24,485 at the 2000 census...
, and is world renown for its delicious DeLuxe Fruitcakes. They ship to all 50 states, US possessions and 195 foreign lands.
The Bakery is the proud recipient of the president's coveted "E-Award".
Early history
The bakery was founded in 1896 by August Wiederman, an immigrant from WiesbadenWiesbaden
Wiesbaden is a city in southwest Germany and the capital of the federal state of Hesse. It has about 275,400 inhabitants, plus approximately 10,000 United States citizens...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. With the help of local entrepreneur Tom McElwee, the bakery soon outgrew its original building, and required a new one in which the second floor was turned into a hotel. Celebrities such as Enrico Caruso and Will Rogers
Will Rogers
William "Will" Penn Adair Rogers was an American cowboy, comedian, humorist, social commentator, vaudeville performer, film actor, and one of the world's best-known celebrities in the 1920s and 1930s....
were sighted at the bakery, and in 1914 the Ringling Brothers Circus
Ringling Brothers Circus
The Ringling Brothers Circus was a circus founded in the United States in 1884 by five of the seven Ringling Brothers: Albert , August , Otto , Alfred T. , Charles , John , and Henry...
passed through town and ordered dozens of fruitcakes as Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
gifts to be mailed to friends and family across the globe. In this way, the bakery entered the mail-order business. Lee W. McNutt, Harry Cook and Bob Rutherford purchased the bakery from Mr. Wiedmann in 1946.
Mail order sales
In reference to the mail order business started in 1947, bakery employees copied names and addresses from a myriad of phone books for "prospecting" list. The late L.W. McNutt Jr. initiated a direct marketing campaign to international customers. Under his expert direction, the bakery began accepting orders by mail, phone, fax and online. He also pioneered the use of a computerized database and also fine-tuned shipping methods to make delivery of the cakes more efficient. The third generation CEO, Bob McNutt has continued to refine all of these methods put in place by his father, L.W.Notable clients
The descendants of the Ringling circus continue to order cakes. Monaco'sMonaco
Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...
Princess Caroline also places and annual order ... continuing her mother, Princess Grace's tradition of a Christmas DeLuxe for their family and friends. Hilton Hotels are a long time customer, as is Master Builders, S.A. of Brussels, Belgium. Also counted in the above group is Madison Square Gardens and the famous Vanna White. The company rejected an order from Iran's
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
Ayatollah Khomeini following the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis. The DeLuxe Fruitcake is shipped to ever nation you can name except Cuba and the country just mentioned.
Statistics
Fruitcake accounts for 98 percent of the bakery's total sales. The company sells about 3 million pounds of fruitcake each year, which equates to 1.5 million individual cakes.The majority of orders are placed by mail and during a three-month period, October through November.
Despite the heavy demand, the bakery does not have a distributor, but sells its branded goods only at its 2 Corsicana stores and new location in Waco, and through mail-order. In the past some specialty Supermarkets, such as the defunct Amarraca in Pittsburgh's North Hills, have sold a private label version of the fruitcake.