H&S Bakery began first as the vision of Isidore Paterakis, an immigrant from Chios, Greece. In 1943, Isidore Paterakis turned H&S Bakery into a reality by going into business with his son-in-law Harry Tsakalos. What began as a small family-owned bakery morphed into a bread-making powerhouse. H&S Bakery expanded throughout the twentieth century to include Northeast Foods and the Schmidt Baking Company. Following in his father’s entrepreneurial spirit, John Paterakis, struck a deal with the fast food giant McDonald’s in the seventies. Based in Baltimore, Northeast Foods, under the management of H & S bakery, is now a supplier of sandwich buns and English muffins for McDonald’s restaurants on the east coast.
The company remained an active part of the Harbor East community in the nineties. According to one Baltimore Sun article published in 1993, H&S Bakery “produce[d] 370,000 rolls. Every hour.” While continued growth led to H&S Bakeries opening in seven states, the Paterakis family chose to remain in Baltimore. H&S Bakeries continued to work within the food industry and in the nineties, John Paterakis expanded the company to include property development with the formation of H&S Properties Development Corporation. The H & S Property Development Corporation, along with the Bozzuto family, is responsible for the creation of Liberty Harbor East. The Paterakis and Bozzuto families’ combined efforts have resulted in a revitalized Harbor East complete with new, luxurious residential areas and retail stores.Today, the Paterakis family continues to remain an integral part of the east Baltimore community and is the “largest family-owned variety baker in the U.S.” according to H&S Bakery’s website. ]]>