Bakers Square

Operations

Bakers Square restaurants are mostly found in the Upper Midwest. Outside of the Des Moines area, they and Village Inn do not overlap in the same markets. The very first Mrs. C's, located on Merle Hay Road in Des Moines, kept operating as a Bakers Square until it shut down on April 2, 2008, when parent company VICORP filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The following year, American Blue Ribbon Holdings—owned by Fidelity National Financial and Newport Global Advisors—bought VICORP's assets, which included both Village Inn and Bakers Square.

Back in late 1993, VICORP bought the rights to the small Florida chain Angel's Diner from Eric A. Holm. Holm had also sold the rights to Golden Corral, so VICORP had to pay Golden Corral $1 million to get exclusive rights.

The plan was to turn underperforming Village Inn and Bakers Square locations into this new concept. After building seven units, VICORP figured out the idea wasn't profitable and wrote off $11 million on the project. Around that same time, Eric Holm filed for personal bankruptcy.

At one point, Bakers Square had a big footprint in California, with more than 90 locations, going head-to-head with Marie Callender's, Coco's Bakery, and Carrows. The chain got into California when its parent company bought the Sambo's chain in October 1984.

A lot of those Sambo's spots became Bakers Square restaurants, while the rest were sold off to other chains, like Denny's. VICORP's Bakers Square did well in California into the early 2000s. But the weakening economy hit the restaurant business hard, and by 2005 profit margins started slipping.

Bakers Square began shutting down rural and suburban California locations as their leases ran out. The ones that stayed open didn't get remodeled like competitors' stores, so business kept sliding. By February 2009, more than 80 California locations had closed. Most of those buildings are still empty today, though a few around Los Angeles turned into Du-par's Restaurant & Bakery or Polly's Pies.

The last Southern California location still running was in San Diego. That Bakers Square sat on hotel property and had to stay open until a new tenant was found, thanks to a deal between VICORP and the hotel chain (formerly Holiday Inn). It eventually became a Du-par's, and the attached pub became Du-par's Pub.

Did You Know?

• Pillsbury purchased Mrs. C's, renamed it Poppin' Fresh Pies, and opened additional locations.