Food City to serve as exclusive outlet for Kern's Bread products Knoxville News Sentinel
Food City is bringing back a regional favorite to its shelves with the return of Kern's Bread.
The classic brand, which has more than 144 years of history in Knoxville, is the latest iconic product line to be revived by the Abingdon, Va. based chain of grocery stores.
Last Olympic Kevin Shattenkirk Jersey spring, Food City added Kay's Ice Cream, originally based in Knoxville, to its list of products, and in January, it did the same with Terry's Snacks, originally produced in Bristol, Va.
"We think it makes good sense. These brands at one time were the No. 1 brands in their particular markets. They got phased out by some larger companies, and that's why Food City is glad to be able to be bringing these back for folks here in this region," said Steve Smith, president and CEO of Food City's parent company, K VA T Food Stores Inc.
At a press conference held Thursday at Sara Lee Bakeries, 2110 Chapman Highway, Smith announced that Food City would serve as the exclusive Kern's Bread outlet, selling a complete line of white, whole wheat, honey wheat and lite wheat breads and buns as well as a line of fresh baked cakes, including single serve snack cakes, angel food and pound cakes.
The Chapman Highway site produced Kern's products for decades.
"I think Kern's has been such a popular brand in the greater Knoxville market," Smith said. "It just makes all the sense in the world to be able to partner with Sara Lee Bakeries to bring the bread back with its batter whipped recipe and all of its varieties."
The products will be produced at the Chapman Highway facility, which currently makes the Sara Lee line of rolls and buns. A marketing campaign is accompanying the Kern's relaunch that will promote the brands using new advertising and dusting off popular ads from the early 1970s that featured a Kern's truck driver and a diner waitress he befriends.
Former Knoxville Mayor Peter Kern founded the bakery in 1864, operating the family owned business from the present Hotel S. Oliver on Union Avenue until the new bakery was later constructed on Chapman Highway.
Ron Thomason, zone vice president of Sara Lee Corp., the latest owner of the Kern's brand, called Food City's strategy "very exciting."
"It was a fantastic brand with a lot of heritage and history," Thomason said, adding that the announcement would secure and maintain jobs at the Chapman Highway facility. It currently employs 118 but, he said, there is capacity to add hours and shifts as the brand grows.
Less than a year after resurrecting Kay's Ice Cream, Smith said the brand had captured 20 percent of Food City's ice cream market.
"We think Terry's and Kern's will do the same," he said.
Food City is working on adding more regional brands, which could be announced before the end of the year.
"I grew up here in the Tri Cities," Smith said. "We at Food City think we are more in touch with the regional tastes and flavors."
K VA T operates 96 retail food outlets throughout the tri state regions of Southeast Kentucky, Southwest Virginia and East Tennessee. Also remember during a period during WWII that you got your Olympic Patrick Kane Jersey bread un sliced, just a whole loaf. Don't know why really, I guess it was said to utilize less manpower, but my thoughts were it was develolped by some devious manufacturer to sell bread knives. Only, it wasn't in Knoxville; it was in London, Kentucky. I am from London and moved to East Tennessee 7 years ago. We had a Kern's Bakery there for as long as I can remember. Lot's of memories associated with it. Also, I had a good friend who drove a Kern's delivery truck in the 70's. We loved the Mama Kern's commercials. Thank you Food City for bringing back the memories. Please bring back the Mama Kern's commercials.
I remember the Kern's merry go round coming to my church kindergarten. That was probably the highlight of the year for us kids. and we all got one of those cool mini loaves to take home (or, more usually, eaten at kindergarten or before reaching home). Sometimes, we'd get one of the "weird" loaves, called "rye" and "pumperknickel" (which didn't taste anything like pumpkin). No one ever knew what to make of them.
Thanks, Food City, for bringing back Kerns and Kay's. Now, if you could only get the manufacturers of Ne Hi, Fanta, and Orange Crush and maybe Mountain Dew? to revert to their original recipes, I think I could die a happy man.
I remember the Kern's merry go round coming to my church kindergarten. That was probably the highlight of the year for us kids. and we all got one of those cool Women's Kevin Shattenkirk Jersey mini loaves to take home (or, more usually, eaten at kindergarten or before reaching home). Sometimes, we'd get one of the "weird" loaves, called "rye" and "pumperknickel" (which didn't taste anything like pumpkin). No one ever knew what to make of them.
Thanks, Food City, for bringing back Justin Faulk USA Hockey Jersey Kerns and Kay's. Now, if you could only get the manufacturers of Ne Hi, Fanta, and Orange Crush and maybe Mountain Dew? to revert to their original recipes, I think I could die a happy man.
So glad to hear of Kern's return to K'town.
I did a story on "AJ and Mavis" for PM Magazine at WATE TV back in the early 80's for the World's Fair, in fact, I'm in the two commercials they shot for the World's Fairs (Kerns's was the Official Bread sponsor for the fair). learned a lot about AJ and Mavis and their personalities, just wonderful people. I still go back and look at all the commercials and the story from time to time.
The ad executive who played AJ passed away several years ago, and I never heard what happened to the actress who played Mavis.