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Detroit’s Metropolitan Baking Co. to Expand Hamtramck, Michigan, Facility

Nov. 3, 2023
30,000-square-foot addition will add 30-40% production capacity on new bun and roll lines.

Detroit, Mich.-area Metropolitan Baking Co. will add a 30,000-square-foot expansion to its Hamtramck, Mich., baking operation, the company announced in a release. In addition, the company will add 25 employees to its payroll to staff the expansion.

Metropolitan Baking president George Kordas, grandson of the company’s founder, said the company’s “fantastic” growth over the past several years produced the opportunity to grow the business.

The company was founded in 1945 and its products are distributed nationally, with fresh and frozen bread products served in Yankee Stadium and on the Las Vegas Strip, the announcement said. Increased sales opportunities are currently hampered by capacity constraints, the company added, and the new plant expansion will include bun and roll lines that will add 30-40% capacity. Metropolitan Baking recently expanded its shipping docks, refrigeration and freezer space, and this expansion will help the company fully utilize those spaces.

Metropolitan declined a potential grant from the Michigan Agriculture Commission and did not pursue other grant or tax incentives from local entities for this project, stating that the company did not feel it was right to take financial assistance when Hamtramck schools, infrastructure and public safety initiatives needed the funding more than the company did.

The company produces Coney Island “steamer buns and Pullman breads,” as well as wheat, white, rye, French, Italian, hamburger, hot dog, slider and brioche buns, and dinner, sub, Kaiser and onion rolls — under the Kordas brand name as well as several others.

About the Author

Andy Hanacek | Senior Editor

Andy Hanacek has covered meat, poultry, bakery and snack foods as a B2B editor for nearly 20 years, and has toured hundreds of processing plants and food companies, sharing stories of innovation and technological advancement throughout the food supply chain. In 2018, he won a Folio:Eddie Award for his unique "From the Editor's Desk" video blogs, and he has brought home additional awards from Folio and ASBPE over the years. In addition, Hanacek led the Meat Industry Hall of Fame for several years and was vice president of communications for We R Food Safety, a food safety software and consulting company.

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