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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 45 Fact Book / Doing Business in Maine B U S I N E S S R E S O U R C E S I n the classic tale of the Little Red Hen, the titular hen goes from seed to wheat to flour to loaf quite famously by herself – noth- ing taken, nothing shared. At the end of the day, the Hen's table is set only for one. But when Heather Kerner decided to get into the dough business herself, she took a different approach — one that supports others as a key feature of the business model, grown with the support of her community and Maine's entrepreneurial ecosystem. Kerner's business, the Canaan- based Good Crust, is unique in that it combines a focus on food pro- duction with high-quality Maine- ingredients with tailored workforce development goals. e Good Crust was founded in September 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, and has since been producing high quality pizza dough made of authentic Maine ingre- dients for her many clients throughout the state and the country. As Kerner works hard to ensure her clients receive the highest quality pizza dough, she also ensures that the Good Crust employs those who may not otherwise find employment. ese individu- als include those with cerebral palsy, autism, traumatic brain injury, as well as addiction recovery. Planting the seed If the Good Crust is a unique busi- ness, Kerner is uniquely suited to create and run it. She has spent the better part of three decades prepar- ing to lead the Good Crust, even if she did not know it at the time. She worked as an occupational therapist for nearly 25 years, supporting indi- viduals with similar support needs to those she now employs. roughout her time in the field, she worked in various pediatric settings, from hospitals to clinics to schools. It was when she began using local grains, F I L E P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y O F T H E G O O D C R U S T A shared success in the Good Crust A Canaan business builds on Maine-grown ingredients B y A s h t o n R e c o r d a n d L e a h B a t t T h i b a u l t The Good Crust was founded in September 2020 by Heather Kerner, who worked with CEI's Women's Business Center. C O N T I N U E D O N F O L L OW I N G PA G E »