NASHVILLE, TENN. — In another move signaling its expansion in the Northeast, Crown Bakeries on June 30 announced it has acquired Lawrence, Mass.-based Bagel Boy, Inc., the largest manufacturer of premium, New York-style bagels in New England. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The acquisition comes less than three weeks after Crown Bakeries acquired Michel’s Bakery, a Philadelphia-based baker specializing in large-scale, private label baking for distributors and quick-service customers nationwide and throughout the world.

Founded in 1992 by Chuck Bouchrouche, Bagel Boy makes bagels, flatbreads, pitas and sandwich thins, and is a key baking partner for leading grocery retailers and consumer brands. Following the acquisition, Mr. Bouchrouche will remain at the helm of the company as general manager, and Bagel Boy will continue to operate out of its existing manufacturing facility in Lawrence.

“Bagel Boy has thrived under Chuck’s leadership, and we’re excited to welcome the team in Lawrence to the Crown family as we continue to expand our footprint in the Northeast,” said Yianny Caparos, president of Crown Bakeries. “Breakfast is the fastest growing daypart in the United States and bagel sales are growing nearly three-times as fast as the broader baked goods category. By adding Bagel Boy’s outstanding products to our existing portfolio, including croissants, biscuits and English muffins, as well as our extensive sweet goods capabilities, we further enhance Crown’s position as the preferred one-stop-shop baker in the industry.”

Commenting on the partnership, Mr. Bouchrouche stated, “Crown’s reputation, industry expertise, resources and approach made them the right choice to partner with as we enter our next growth phase. By joining the Crown family, we can leverage the combined scale of our businesses and offer a more comprehensive portfolio of high-quality baked goods to our deeply valued customers.”

Earlier this year, The Bakery Cos., formerly known as The Bun Cos., rebranded itself as Crown Bakeries. Crown Bakeries is owned by Arbor Investments, a specialized private equity firm that focuses exclusively on acquiring companies in food, beverage and related industries. Arbor announced the recapitalization of Crown Bakeries with founder and chief executive officer Cordia Harrington in October 2019. Under Arbor’s ownership, Crown Bakeries has made significant investments to grow the business both organically and through acquisitions. In 2020, Crown Bakeries completed the acquisitions of Steck Wholesale Foods in North Sioux City, SD, and purchased a laminated and sweet goods plant in Smyrna, Ga., from Specialty Bakers, LLC. Crown Bakeries also recently completed a 45,000-square-foot expansion in Nashville that includes a new ultra-high-speed line producing thaw-and-serve croissants for the retail, in-store bakery and foodservice channels.

“The Bagel Boy transaction marks the fourth add-on to the Crown portfolio in the last 15 months, giving the organization over 1,000 employees, serving customers across all channels — in retail, as a co-manufacturing partner for brands, as well as in foodservice,” said Chris Tuffin, partner at Arbor.  “We are thrilled not only to have grown our team and further expanded our product offering, but now boast eight facilities with presence up-and-down the Eastern seaboard, establishing Crown as the preeminent baking partner for customers in North America.”