LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Las Vegas welcomes more than 40 million visitors a year, and it takes a lot of food to keep those tourists full.
In this Nevada Built, 13 Action News anchor Kelsey McFarland is introducing you to the company that’s become the “bread and butter” of many Las Vegas restaurants and resorts.
Great Buns Bakery is more than just a fun name and an eye-catching logo.
"We got here in 1982," says Tony Madonia.
It’s a long-time establishment in Las Vegas, run by cousins Tony Madonia and Deborah Morelli.
"My great grandfather started his bakery in 1919," says Madonia.
This family of fourth generation bakers has roots in New York. They took their business to Las Vegas in the 80s.
"Las Vegas was just starting to evolve into a big city," says Madonia.
Now, Great Buns feeds 27 states including the hundreds of thousands of visitors and locals inside big-time venues, including local casinos, T-Mobile Arena and Allegiant Stadium.
"I dont think a lot of people realize just how big this bakery is until you can really see the grand scope of things… talk about how much bread is out in a month," says McFarland.
"We’re processing 1.6 million pounds of finished dough a month," says Madonia.
It takes a large scale production making rolls, pastries and bread.
"That conveyer that was going around now feeds into our cooling tower and the cooling tower... goes around and around to where it comes into final packaging. This is where products get sliced and bagged over here," says Madonia.
But outside the automated assembly lines…
"Right here we’re making a banana nut muffin," says Madonia.
The pastries are hand-crafted.
"Everything here is made by hand with a lot of love," says Madonia.
It’s not just wholesale. Generations of families come to Great Buns for bagels, pastries and more.
"We have a lot of people that come in in their thirties and they said, Oh, my grandmother used to bring us in or my aunt and uncle used to bring us in. They used to go to the movie theater around the corner," says Morelli.
She goes on to say, "It's just really great to see that generation, that history and the longevity continue to play out because we want to be here and we're going to be here for as long as they'll have us."
A tradition Tony and Deborah plan to continue.
"We're always thinking about what can we do to be better, stronger to evolve in the community like we have over the years. My cousin and I, we always say, don't leave out the impossible. So we're always trying to figure out what we can do to be better," says Morelli.
