Bob Johnson (at left) appeared at Rotary on Friday, exploding onto the podium and delivering a lively personal story of a life in entrepreneurship. Among other enterprises, he owns Scratch Bakery in South Portland. From the time when he was a paperboy, he has been devoted to entrepreneurial activity.Bob credits his professional interests to the fact that he is a “serial hobbyist.” To support his hobbies, he has always had to earn money. This has carried through to his adult life. He started Scratch Bakery 15 years ago. It was quite a departure from his original goals, where he left college planning to be a teacher. He started to change directions soon after.
Following a stint in the Peace Corps and other overseas experiences, he was headed for an MBA when he shifted directions again and decided simply to get a job. He worked at the US Agency for International Development on training, but when bureaucracy rose to bite him, he decided to head out on his own. He eventually started in the restaurant world at the absolute bottom rung, sitting on an upturned bucket in a hot kitchen cutting beans. Through the work that grew from that, he learned that while he loved food and loved being around food, he was not so excited about participating in the “hard-core” restaurant scene.
Returning to his native Vermont, he worked at Shelburne Farms for a while, then got in early at the green consumer products company, Seventh Generation. After a few years he woke up and asked, “Do I want to manage a warehouse forever?” He then went into beer brewing, working for free at first in order to learn the business. He notes that making beer is relatively easy…..selling it is the hard part. He started to study beer distribution. One thing led to another, and with a partner he founded Magic Hat Brewing, which would go on to become an iconic brand in the early years of craft beer.
After a cancer diagnosis, Bob found that he was again looking for a change. He came to South Portland, connected with bakers, bought his shop in Willard Square and started Scratch, a bakery that has risen to cult status for its bagels, breads and high quality imaginative baked goods. The key to success, in Bob’s mind, “It’s not just about making a good bagel -- it’s about treating people right.” There, he says, “they throw a party every day.”
PP Roxane Cole, Bob Johnson, and President Amy Chipman.