Bill Paterakis will succeed his father, John Paterakis Sr., at the helm of the family’s Baltimore companies. John Paterakis Sr. died Oct. 16 at age 87.
An obituary in the
Baltimore Sun
said John Paterakis Sr. grew his parents’ bakery business, H&S Bakery, into one of the largest bakers on the East Coast. A subsidiary, Northeast Foods Inc., is the largest source of hamburger buns for McDonald’s, the obituary said. He then branched out into real estate, taking a risk on Baltimore’s Harbor East development that paid off handsomely.
The family bakery business today generates about $800 million in annual revenue and employs 2,500 people at 12 locations,
a subsequent
Sun
article said.
The
Sun
reported that although Paterakis Sr. remained chairman until his death and continued to come to the office into his 80s, “he started planning early for a transition in leadership.”
Bill Paterakis, the second oldest of four sons, has been the head of Northeast Foods. John J. (“J.R.”) Paterakis Jr. heads sales; Chuck Paterakis is in charge of transportation and construction; and Steve Paterakis runs the Schmidt baking divisions. They have two sisters, who have an ownership stake in H&S Properties Development along with other business partners, the
Sun
reported.
John Paterakis’s father started the bakery business in 1943 with a business partner, Harry Tsakalos. Members of the Tsakalos family still work there, and the estate of Harry Tsakalos’ son Nicholas has an ownership stake in the bakeries, the
Sun
report said.
Bill Paterakis told the
Sun
he expects to slow the pace of further redevelopment at Harbor East because he wants to avoid taking on debt that would threaten the core bakery businesses. He and his brothers plan to seek growth opportunities for the bakeries, the article said.
Five Paterakis grandchildren and three Tsakalos grandchildren work in the business, the article said. (Source:
Baltimore Sun
, Oct. 16, 2016 and Oct. 17, 2016.)
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