CHAD UMBLE | Staff WriterWith new owners in place who are committed to carrying on the tradition of Ric’s Bread, the longtime owners of the downtown Lancaster business are stepping away from the bakery they operated for 17 years.
After selling the business for an undisclosed price in May, Mike and Shelley Stauffer stayed on to help with the transition to the new owners, Katie-Marie Wilson and Clayton McKee. The Stauffers recently announced that they will end their involvement with the business around the middle of November.
“Our great success was due to some fantastic employees over the years, and many 12 hour days, six days a week,” the Stauffers wrote in a post on Ric’s Bread’s Facebook page. “Having all of your support as valued customers and friends has made all of the hard work worth it!”
Ric’s Bread has a stand at Lancaster Central Market, a retail bakery and production area at 24 N. Queen St., and a stand at the Headhouse Farmers Market in Philadelphia.
McKee said he and Wilson plan to continue making English muffins, loaves, bagels, scones and the other Ric’s Bread baked goods with the original recipes. McKee said they hope to soon open stands at other regional markets and expand the café menu at the Queen Street location.
McKee is a part-owner with his brother of Beverage Express Carlisle, a beer distributor in Carlisle started by their parents. Wilson, who had been working at Ric’s Bread, was friends with McKee and teamed up with him to buy the business.
Ric’s Bread was begun in 1994 by John Eric “Ric” Tribble and his wife, Mary, who began the stand at Lancaster Central Market and operated a bakery at 414 N. Pine St. before moving to Queen Street. The Tribbles sold the business in 2005 to Ron Peiffer, who sold it to the Stauffers in 2008.
Ric Tribble, who went into the real estate business after selling his namesake bakery, died in 2021.
