Crown Bakeries Expands Bun Production with New, State-of-the-art Line at Pleasant Prairie Facility
APRIL 1, 2025 – Nashville, Tenn. – Crown Bakeries, a leading manufacturer of fresh and frozen breads, buns, and sweet goods, announced today the construction of a new high-speed bun production line at its Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, facility. This strategic investment strengthens Crown’s manufacturing capabilities and reinforces its commitment to supporting customers with consistent quality, capacity, and innovation.
The new line will significantly increase Crown’s bun production volume, enabling the company to enhance service to its growing national base of customers. The Pleasant Prairie facility, renowned for its operational excellence and food safety standards, will house the line, which is expected to be fully operational by November 2025.
Crown selected a state-of-the-art AMF production line that combines industry-leading speed with unprecedented flexibility. With the ability to produce as many as 2.3 million buns a day, the new line will deliver the efficiency that operators need to meet both demand and competitive price points.
Drawing on deep experience and expertise in bun production, Crown’s operations team designed the line to accommodate multiple packaging formats tailored to the distinct needs of QSR, CPG, and retail segments. Additionally, with a centralized location just outside of Chicago, Crown’s new bun line will offer supply chain and logistics benefits to expanded regions.
“This expansion is a direct reflection of our dedication to meeting customer needs with speed, scale, and precision,” said Yianny Caparos, CEO of Crown Bakeries.
Crown Bakeries President Doug Bame added, “The addition of this new line in Pleasant Prairie allows us to continue raising the bar on quality and reliability while investing in the long-term growth of our business, our team, and above all, our customers.”
This investment also builds upon Crown’s legacy as a leading bun supplier to top brands. Originally founded as a high-speed bun producer in Dickson, Tennessee, Crown has continued to grow its capabilities and footprint through Arbor Investments, a specialized private equity firm that focuses on acquiring premier companies in food, beverage, and related industries.
The Pleasant Prairie expansion follows a series of investments across Crown’s facilities, including recent upgrades to facilities in Philadelphia, PA, Lawrence, MA, Nashville, TN, and Smyrna, GA.
About Crown Bakeries
Founded in 1996 by Cordia Harrington and based in Nashville, Tennessee, Crown Bakeries manufactures a diverse line of fresh and frozen croissants, buns, bagels, biscuits, sweet goods, and dough products for leading foodservice, food manufacturing, and retail customers in the United States. Crown operates state-of-the-art baking lines throughout nine facilities, baking over seven million items daily and employing over 1,800 people. Product platforms include croissants, buns, English muffins, biscuits, bagels, rolls, frozen dough, artisan breads, sweet goods, and pastries. Crown Bakeries has been recognized by Conagra Brands as Supplier of the Year (2020), American Society of Baking’s Baking Hall of Fame (Founder and Co-Chairperson Cordia Harrington in 2018, CEO Yianny Caparos and Chief Development Officer George Caparos in 2022), Nashville Business Journal’s Best in Business (2017), McDonald’s Supplier Leadership Award (2012), and Wholesale Bakery of the Year (2010).