Greg Acerra is the owner of Fireking Baking Company in Braintree (Photo: Mark Hunt)
The bread business booms for Fireking Baking Company
Fireking Baking Company rolls out artisan breads by the millions, yet every loaf tastes like it was made at home. Owner and founder Greg Acerra makes sure of that.
Acerra started the company in the back of a restaurant nearly 30 years ago, and in 2022, he was named runner-up National Small Businessperson of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Acerra is a restauranteur who started Fireking in 1995 to supply European-style artisan breads exclusively to his eateries, Tosca and Stars on Hingham Harbor. Soon after, hotels and cafes in Boston were lining up to buy this new bread.
“I drove the delivery truck myself overnight — 18 stores, five days a week,” Acerra said.
The company employs about 150 full-time employees in its 200,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Braintree. That’s the size of four football fields.
A 200,000-SQUARE-FOOT KITCHEN: Fireking produces more than 300 types of artisan breads and rolls for retailers and food service companies. Selections range from Tuscan baguettes and brioche hot dog buns, to pretzel sub rolls and challah pullmans. (Photos: Mark Hunt)PRIORITIZING PEOPLE: “If you don’t grow, you fail. I have talented people with me and they’re not going to stay if I don’t provide a future for them,” said Greg Acerra, owner. Pictured, left: Greg with members of the manufacturing crew. Right: Peter Rossi, plant manager. Not pictured: Emerson Nevas, head baker. (Photos: Mark Hunt)
“We chose to expand in Braintree for access to the MBTA rail and bus lines for our staff and for the affordable, reliable electric from BELD. After the cost of ingredients and labor, our next biggest cost is electricity. Our bill would be two and half times higher in other towns.”
greg acerra, fireking baking companY Runner-up for U.S. Small Business Person of the Year
EVER-EXPANDING: Fireking is a five-time honoree on Inc. Magazine’s list of fastest growing private companies in the U.S. The company made a five-fold expansion into its current facility in 2017. “Building this place was an enormous undertaking,” recalled Greg Acerra, owner. (Photos: Jim Ritchie)A MODEST BEGINNING: Fireking Owner Greg Acerra grew up in Dorchester and flipped burgers at McDonald’s while attending Xaverian Brothers High School. “I was a terrible student. All I wanted to do was play street hockey. My parents asked what I was going to do with my life, and I said, ‘Be a chef.'” He studied culinary arts and business at Johnson & Wales University before landing a coveted job at the former Anthony’s Pier 4 restaurant in Boston. (Photos: Mark Hunt)FINE-DINING QUALITY: Greg Acerra started Fireking in 1995 to supply artisan bread exclusively to restaurants in his Eat Well Inc. group, including Tosca, Caffe Tosca, and Stars on Hingham Harbor. Boston hotels soon came calling for his product, and today the company sells wholesale to distributors who ship nationwide. (Photos: Mark Hunt)BRANDING THE BREAD: Fireking’s logo is inspired by prehistoric rock paintings called petroglyphs. Owner Greg Acerra said the image communicates his vision for the product, breads that taste “hearth-baked, made the old-style way.” (Photo Mark Hunt)GOOD ADVICE: What’s the secret to success for Fireking Baking Company Owner Greg Acerra? “Don’t be afraid, and don’t listen to negative people. If you’ve got a good product and believe in yourself, do it,” said Greg, who comes to work every day with his dog, Boo. (Photo: Mark Hunt)
“If the power goes out for even five minutes, we lose all the dough in the mixers and production machines and ovens. That’s two days of business, lost.
When we were looking to expand, BELD’s commercial accounts representative, Mike Ford took the time to understand our business, work with the town, and even helped us get generators. I never knew you could get ambassador service like that from an electric company!”
