Jan. 6, 2025

A longtime manager at Breadsmith in Sioux Falls is now a partial owner.

Local franchisee Susie Patrick brought on Janet Ryan as a co-owner at the beginning of this year. Patrick co-founded the business with her father, Chuck Bahnson, in 1997.

Susie Patrick and Janet Ryan

“Chuck’s support, guidance, encouragement, mentorship and love are evident in the countless loaves of bread that have been mixed, bouled, baked and sold since July 26, 1997,” Patrick said. “He is a baguette wizard and eats at least one slice of Italian every day! However, every family-owned business needs a succession plan.”

Ryan joined Breadsmith in the fall of 2001 as a part-time member of the production team. At that time, she was also a full-time manager at the Timber Lodge Steakhouse.

“Janet’s natural sense of leadership and commitment to her position quickly earned her the position of manager of what was then just one Breadsmith location at 33rd and Duluth,” Patrick said, adding that Ryan always has been on board with her “crazy ideas” and has supported the business as it has expanded to four retail locations.

Breadsmith products also are sold at Lewis Drug stores, Pomegranate Market and the Sioux Falls Food Co+op and are used by many local restaurants.

“Janet is the genius behind the operations side of Breadsmith of Sioux Falls and was an obvious choice when deciding to transfer ownership,” Patrick said.

Bahnson said he has always thought of Ryan as a member of the family and thinks her ownership leaves the partnership he built with his daughter in good hands.

“Janet and Susie will carry on the legacy of providing the Sioux Falls community with European, handmade, hearth-baked bread six days a week,” he said.

Ryan said she remembers Bahnson saying in the early days that “you can’t substitute time for quality,” adding that she carries that thought with her in every step of the process of making bread and running the operations of Breadsmith.

Ryan plans to focus on the operations side of the business, while Patrick’s role will be more strategic.

“I continually ask myself how can we continue to grow and be more efficient, while staying relevant,” Patrick said.

Plans for the coming year include looking at how to add a retail presence in downtown Sioux Falls and continuing to expand into more restaurants.

“We’ll continue to come up with new concepts with the hope that the ‘let’s do it’ mindset remains,” Patrick said.