DETROIT – Ann Perrault, co-owner and CEO of Avalon International Breads, never dreamed she would turn a dilapidated industrial building in Detroit into a state-of-the-art bakery to be called Avalon City Ovens.
"Not in a million years," she said when talking about the first phase of her $2.2 million expansion project. The new 50,000-square-foot production facility is scheduled to open this month at 6555 East Forrest. "But if you think about it and think about the resources in Detroit, and the large vacant buildings, it does make sense that this is the direction we took."
The warehouse was purchased at the 2010 Wayne County Tax Foreclosure Auction and is funded by a loan that closed in early October. "I never would have thought of doing this. It was an exciting process to actually go and do it," said Perrault, adding that a few of her customers turned her on to the idea. "I am getting the space for a lot less than what it's worth because the owner hasn't paid the taxes. That's kind of a hard situation. I got really lucky."
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