Comerica Corner: Kirk Michaelis
Kirk Michaelis, from renowned El Bolillo Mexican bakery in Houston, was born and raised in Galveston Island. About 25 years ago, Michaelis set eyes on Houston and decided to settle in. Michaelis comes from a family of entrepreneurs. So when he acquired a donut shop he knew exactly what to do. His donut shop was called The Dough Boy and it just so happens that the street it was located on went into construction and access to the bakery was blocked off. This prompted all the construction workers to stop by his business. So his employees started making pan dulce to cater to his prominent clientele, Hispanics. It was then that Michaelis was introduced to pan dulce. He sold his business and decided to launch El Bolillo Bakery.
When he first opened the bakery, Michaelis remembers how in order to grow his business and brand, he donated away a lot of pan dulce in different areas of the city with large crowds- farmers market, schools, churches. It was his strategy to get business in the door. A year later, Michaelis was diagnosed with cancer and that same community came together to show unconditional support for Michaelis. During those tough moments, it was the community that lifted him and Michaelis knew that the best way to pay it forward was to invest back in that same community. So he build a bigger stores and hired employees from within the community. His business grew from six employees to 300 employees. Comerica Bank has been a significant part of his journey. “They’ve given me advice and they’ve allowed me to do what I do as a businessman. Because of that, they just made it real easy,” said Michaelis. Part of his journey while battling with cancer was making sure that his family was taken care of. He purchased various stores in order to continue growing his business. Comerica has been with him every step of the way, but it has been the Hispanic community who has really taken him in and comforted him during his time of need.
“There was not one day that would go by that someone would come by and say a prayer for me or lay hands on me.”
In 2017, Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas, with Houston as its target. Michaelis remembers how he had a team in two different stores that were caught in the storm and were forced to stay at the bakery due to the horrible weather. He describes how his team continued to bake for over 24 hours until Michaelis was able to reach them two days later. To his surprise, his team baked so much bread that they were able to go around the city to donate bread to those affected by Hurricane Harvey. Michaelis is a true example of community leadership. “What was amazing to me was that some of my employees lost everything yet they were still here helping,” said Michaelis.
One of Michaelis’ struggles has definitely been the growth.
With a growing business, the load also increases and Michaelis knows that first hand. With a growing number of employees, juggling multiple locations, and handling the operations, it can become a real challenge to maintain the balance. But just as there are struggles, there are also rewards. He reminisces about his time during chemotherapy stage when he would take bread with him and share with his doctors, nurses and hospital staff. He then began taking break for children at the hospital. “Its a joy when you have enough and you can share,” says Michaelis.
So what’s next for Michaelis? 2020 comes in big as he continues to expand to more stores and begin the next steps to set up a coffeeshop inside the bakeries. Michaelis has gone through some of the toughest times but it's been his community who has lifted him in such a way that he is now able to give back to them. It was because of his community that he is now able to create jobs and create exquisite pan dulce. Michaelis’ altruistic soul has impacted Houston in more than one way. +
