Next month, Peter Kelsey of the New French Bakery will be honored by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) as the Small Business Person of the Year for Minnesota, according to the
Star Tribune.
Kelsey, who started out modestly in 1997, “credits his success to hard work, luck and the SBA,” the story states.
In the past, he ran a small shop in the Warehouse District. “Kelsey believed bread could trump booze and a hard-rock joint,” but he needed the money to make it happen, the story states.
Luckily, others believed in him and the New French Bakery grew into the 400-person operation it is today, according to the story.
John Rimarcik, a Minneapolis restaurateur, is quoted in the story, saying that Kelsey "is just driven to be one of the best bread bakers in the United States."