LAUB BAKING CO.

The LAUB BAKING CO., organized by German immigrant Jacob Laub, grew to become the largest independent wholesale bakery in Ohio before closing in 1974. Born in Germany in 1861, Laub came to the U.S. in 1878 and worked as a baker's apprentice. In 1889 he established his own business, baking rye bread, rolls, and coffee cake in his home at 1981 (later 4832) Lorain Ave. A loan from Samuel H. Halle enabled Laub to expand his operations by 1892. He maintained a store and office in his home and moved the bakery to larger facilities at 1092 (later 4919) Lorain. The Jacob Laub Baking Co. was incorporated in 1903 and by 1918 it employed 160 people. Laub presided over the firm until his death in 1942 and was succeeded as president by his son, Herbert J. Laub, who directed the company until 1964. The baking company had 82 home delivery routes and 60 wholesale routes in 1953 with 465 employees and annual sales of about $5 million. The firm merged with the French Baking Co. in 1954 and purchased J. SPANG BAKING CO. in 1958; bakeries in Toledo and Sandusky were added in 1960, all of which gave Laub's a combined annual sales of about $11 million. In 1965 the Laub family sold the baking company to a Cleveland investor group headed by Edward Strang, Sr. However its old plants were too costly to operate and too inefficient to compete effectively with modern plants and the firm went out of business 8 Jan. 1974.