Our Story
Greyston Bakery was founded in 1982 by a Zen Buddhist meditation group led by Bernard Tetsugen Glassman, a former aerospace engineer with an entrepreneurial spirit and a bold vision. The group borrowed $300,000 and opened a small storefront bakery in the Bronx. The original goal – to produce quality, locally made products that would give the group a sustainable, satisfying livelihood – soon inspired a socially responsible business extending opportunity to others.
For years, Greyston Bakery indulged metropolitan New York’s most discerning tastes, supplying outstanding desserts to many of the city’s top-rated restaurants. In 1988, Greyston found a new calling in the inclusion of baked goods in ice cream, and since then has become the producer of brownies for Vermont-based Ben & Jerry’s. In addition to our output of over 20,000 pounds of ice cream mix-ins per day, Greyston Bakery now proudly offers a line of exceptional gourmet brownies.
All of this takes place in a state-of-the-art facility conceived by the renowned designer Maya Lin and completed in 2004 on the banks of the Hudson River. Here, the Bakery continues to be a force for self-transformation and community renewal, offering on-site training and fair wages and benefits to more than 65 local residents, regardless of their work history.
Consistent with our social mission, profits from Greyston Bakery support the Greyston Foundation’s community development initiatives, including low-income housing, childcare, health services, and technology education.
