Rick Postle, Our "Starter"

It is commonly known that in order to make great sourdough bread, a “starter” is required. By making a "starter" in which wild yeast can grow, the sourdough baker can raise bread naturally. Much like the bread starter which gives rise to the dough, Rick Postle played a similar role when starting Blue Ridge Bread.

Rick Postle started his career flipping hamburgers with Wendy’s. Because of his constant positive attitude and upbeat personality, he was spotted by upper management. He quickly moved up the ranks to become President of North America with Wendy’s. He later moved to Checkers, I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt, KFC, then in the early 1990s he became the President and CEO of the St. Louis Bread company. Rick grew the St. Louis Bread company from 25 cafes to 500! He then changed the name from “St. Louis Bread Company” to “Panera Bread.” Pan- is the Latin term for bread, era- meaning a span of time. Therefore, the word Panera can be loosely translated to “bread time” or “time for bread.”

In 2002, Rick became a joint venture partner with Panera Bread. He developed 40 cafes throughout Virginia and Pennsylvania. He 2004 he sold the cafes back to the company, and became a franchisee. That is when Blue Ridge Bread was born.

Blue Ridge Bread is the franchise group that owns and operates 11 Panera Bread bakery-cafes throughout the Blue Ridge mountain region in Virginia. Our bakery cafes include the Panera locations in Christiansburg, Blacksburg, Roanoke, Lynchburg, Charlottesville, Harrisonburg, Warrenton, Winchester and Ranson, WV.

Rick Postle also owns Delta Dough, the franchise group that will be developing Panera Bread bakery-cafes in the greater Memphis region.