Skip to Main Content
Doing More Today
  • News
  • Community
    • Associates in Action
    • Community Engagement
    • Small Business
    • Economic Development
  • Insights & Innovation
    • Economic Commentary
    • Insights
    • Innovation
  • Financial Wellness
    • Financial Wellness
    • Fraud Prevention
  • See the Good
    • Culture
    • Good Company
    • Good Towns
    • Good Pets
    • Ecards
    • Recipes
    • Riding Forward
Subscribe Now
Regions Bank

Regions Bank: Doing More Today: Good stories. Better insights. More possibilities.

Share
Share on Facebook
Share on X
Share on LinkedIn
Share via Email
Subscribe
photos of Three Brothers Bakery in Houston

Houston’s Three Brothers Bakery, owned by Janice and Bobby Jucker, traces its roots to the Jucker family’s first bakery, opened in Poland circa 1825.

Category: Economic Development

Changing the Recipe

How one bakery shook up its ingredients to serve new customers during these unusual times.

By Kim Borges | May 21, 2020

Janice and Bobby Jucker thought they had seen – and weathered – every imaginable challenge in running their business.

Four floods, one fire and a hurricane. And they somehow came back each time.

But even the “queen and king of disasters,” as they’re affectionately known, recognize that COVID-19 is an entirely new phenomenon in terms of its economic impact and recovery.

“The difference with this is we don’t know when the end will be,” said Janice, President & Co-Owner of Three Brothers Bakery in Houston.

Janice was one of five small-business owners who recently shared insights of operating their companies in these unusual times during a webinar hosted by the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City. More than 700 entrepreneurs participated in the “Innovating Through Crisis: Strategies for Small Businesses to Survive and Thrive” online session.

photos of Three Brothers Bakery in Houston
With three locations in Houston, Three Brothers Bakery is known for delicious culinary creations. The business is adapting to keep serving customers and providing jobs.

Regions Bank is a longtime community partner of ICIC. Since 2014, the bank has provided financial backing for high-impact, tuition-free business training events organized by ICIC for entrepreneurs in several cities. Top educators lead powerful sessions, and at the Regions-sponsored events, bank personnel provide coaching and insights to help small businesses develop strategies for growth.

The recent webinar was open to graduates nationwide and remains available to anyone online.

For Steve Grossman, CEO of ICIC, the webinar’s audience size was a clear indication of the unprecedented need small-business owners have for resources, advice and support.

“Janice and her colleagues, who own and operate some of the fastest-growing small businesses in America’s cities, were able to effectively share how their innovative approaches are helping them pivot effectively during the crisis,” said Grossman. “Resilience and recovery strategies developed by these creative business owners made the webinar particularly valuable to many of the more than 700 entrepreneurs from throughout the country who registered to participate.”

During the webinar, each presenter discussed the health of their business at the end of 2019, once the pandemic began, and almost two months after stay-at-home orders were issued.

“We were rocking and rolling back in December,” said Jucker, describing the non-stop pace at their three bake shops. “We went from being really busy to really struggling when the outbreak began. Now, we’re getting back to a better place.”

Jucker credits being in that better place to several factors. Key among them?

Communication. With their team members, their customers and their legislators.

“Together, they are our most important assets,” said Jucker. “Communication, marketing and public relations is what I do…all day, every day. I’ve been continually communicating with these important groups throughout the crisis.”

ICIC has also been in regular communication with its graduates, launching its Small Business Resource Center website immediately after the outbreak. The site, which provides national, state and even some local resources to help entrepreneurs navigate the new business normal, is updated regularly and available to all small-business owners.

With Grossman and team currently unable to conduct their Inner City Capital Connections workshops in person due to social distancing guidelines, they quickly adapted to offer virtual workshops.

ICCC - Houston Bakery
Steve Grossman of ICIC met with Janice Jucker in early 2020 as Regions Bank announced it will bring the Inner City Capital Connections program to Houston.

Houston is the next city where Regions and ICIC plan to offer an in-person training event, scheduled for early 2021.

“We learned so much from our ICCC experience,” said Jucker, a graduate who’s attended the workshop in several cities.

Adaptability is one of those lessons. It’s coming in handy these days.

Three Brothers Bakery has transitioned its business model, enlisting creative ways to keep the cash register ringing and its 57 team members employed.

“Because we are a retail bakery, we were able to stay open like a grocery,” said Jucker.

But with daily walk-in traffic significantly down, Three Brothers Bakery knew it couldn’t maintain its business with just this local storefront approach.

With the support of Jucker’s son and daughter-in-law, Three Brothers Bakery began taking orders and delivering to two new neighborhoods. And they are exploring the idea of expanding into additional neighborhoods.

“This is a model that we could continue in the future,” said Janice.

Beyond those neighborhoods, the Juckers turned their baking attention toward reaching an even larger audience with their nationally acclaimed pecan pie that can be shipped anywhere.

“If everyone bought a pecan pie, it not only supports us, but it also helps keep our vendors employed, too,” said Jucker. “The nut grower, the tin maker, the box maker. It’s bigger than just us.”

And speaking of things bigger than them, the Juckers have established a Mitzvah or Good Deed Fund which is helping them feed others right now. Through a wholesale fund, people can donate to Three Brothers Bakery to purchase baked goods for people in need. Groups served include the nonprofit Emergency Aid Coalition and the Jewish Family Service, as well as Feed the Front Line HTX, which provides meals to health care workers.

“We’ve been through so many disasters,” reflected Jucker. “I think our business will withstand the pandemic.”

Words of experience from someone whose business has weathered more than she ever expected – and emerged stronger and wiser from it.

ICCC Houston
The Houston Inner City Capital Connections event is scheduled to take place in early 2021. The program was temporarily delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, free online resources remain available through ICIC.org.
Share
Share on Facebook
Share on X
Share on LinkedIn
Share via Email
Subscribe

Trending Articles

  • 1.

    Angela Santone Joins Regions Bank as Chief People Officer

  • 2.

    Regions Recognized for Excellence in Mortgage Servicing

  • 3.

    Service and Support: Regions Bank Launches Disaster-Recovery Options for Consumers, Businesses

  • 4.

    Regions Bank Named 2025 Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award Winner

  • 5.

    Regions Tradition 2025: Extra Impact

Related Articles

Ben Allen Ridge and Court Rendering
Category: Economic Development

Investing in the Music City

photos of Kinneret Apartments
Category: Economic Development

Kinneret Apartments Get a Makeover

Regions associates and Africatown Redevelopment Corporation (ARC) members holding large...
Category: Community Engagement

Building a Legacy: Regions Bank Supports Affordable Housing

Bo Jackson takes a swing at the Regions Tradition.
Category: Culture

More than a Celebrity Pro-Am

The Pearl apartments in Jackson, Mississippi
Category: Economic Development

The Pearl Delivers Health + Housing

Groups of Regions associates next to canoes and topsoil and...
Category: Community Engagement

Earth Week Spring Cleaning

  • A $1 Billion Economic Success Story
  • ICCC is Strengthening Small Businesses
  • School Spirit
  • Regions Tradition 2025: Extra Impact
Regions.com | About Regions | Investor Relations | Privacy & Security | Website Terms of Use | Contact Regions | Careers at Regions
© 2025 Regions Bank Member FDIC |
All Rights Reserved | Member FDIC | Equal Housing Lender | Online Privacy