About Us

Our story

From our beginnings as a small-town shop supplying 250 loaves a day, to our modern bakery distributing 30 million loaves annually, our simple promise has made our baked goods a favorite in homes and schools across six states.

Earl A. Harris was always an innovator. He purchased an existing Rogers, Arkansas, bakery in 1927, survived the Great Depression by selling bread for 10 cents a loaf, and paid his bakers more than the prevailing wage in order to ensure consistency and quality.

When demand outpaced output, he opened a new plant in 1937. It wasn’t just a storefront with ovens but one of the state’s first Art Deco buildings, an impressive structure that one newspaper described as “the most beautiful bakery in America.” Its front office was even air-conditioned, a rarity at the time. In 1965 a group of local IGA owners formed Ozark Empire Distributors and purchased the bakery from the Harris family. At the time this was the only bakery in America owned by a group of independent retailers.

Moving forward

Harris Baking Company continues to innovate. The year 2018 saw the start of a three-year, $5 million equipment upgrade that will bring greater efficiencies in baking, packaging and distribution.

Building on our signature Ozark Hearth brand, we are test marketing several new varieties, many with multiple grains and all with no high fructose corn syrup.  We expect to add several new varieties in 2018, including a line of Sweet Hawaiian style products created with millennials in mind.  We recently partnered with a local tortilla bakery to sell their line of fresh tortillas.

At Harris Baking Company, we are moving with the times while ever mindful of a successful and celebrated past. One constant is our promise to provide delicious and superior baked products delivered at a fair price.

Harris Baking Company. We Make Good Bread.