Pierre Abushacra shares his story of entrepreneurship from immigrant to banker to CEO of Firehook Bakery.
He was born in Beirut Lebanon where he lived until the age of 7 when, in 1974, he moved to Greece with his family to escape the civil war in Lebanon.
In 1984, at the age of 17, his mother’s experience as a Lebanese pastry chef allowed the family to immigrate to the US and become US citizens.
Pierre graduated from George Washington University’s School of Business with a major in Finance in 1988 after which he worked in Washington DC in private banking for 4 years.
About Firehook Bakery
Firehook opened in 1992 as a neighborhood bakery and coffeehouse with a simple commitment to bake everything from scratch using all natural ingredients. Today, each and every loaf of bread, pastry and cake is still made from scratch using artisanal techniques and all natural ingredients — a Firehook family tradition
Pierre founded Firehook Bakery with 2 partners. Firehook started as a sourdough bread bakery and café in Old Town Alexandria. Firehook currently operates a wholesale bakery and 8 company owned and operated cafes in the Washington DC metro area.
In 2012, Firehook launched a packaged goods line of baked crackers distributed nationally to conventional supermarkets and natural food stores.
What’s with the name Firehook?
FIREHOOK is not just a superfluous name concocted to make us sound cool behind the ovens. It is actually a name rich in ancient history. When bread was first being discovered, bakers used a hook-shaped tool, called a Firehook, to pull baked loaves out of the fire. Over time, bakers themselves came to be known as “Firehooks”, synonymous to “bread bakers”. So aside from sounding really cool, Firehook has a purpose.
Check out episoe #390 of Cool Things Entrepreneurs Do to hear his journey.
#cpg #bakery #firehook