
The Sub ‘Bread That Made Atlantic City Famous’
Pictured above are “The Fab Four,” The Beatles enjoying the famous Atlantic City sub bread in 1963 … made by Formica Brothers Bakery.
With no disrespect to great submarine sandwich makers throughout the Atlantic City, New Jersey … it really is all about the bread.
George E. Norcross, III saved Formica Brothers Bakery with a more than $ 5 million cash infusion in January, 2022
Norcross was literally born into the bakery business.
We confirmed with Norcross in January, 2022 that this was in honor, memory, and recognition of Norcross' paternal grandfather August Freitag who founded The Freitag Bakery in Camden in 1890.
Few knew before our breaking news report in 2022, that the bakery business is a great tradition within The Norcross Family for more than 100 years.
Formica’s has been rebranded as Formica Freitag Bakery.
About the decision to make this major investment, Norcross said:
To Our Loyal Customers, for over 100 years, the Formica Freitag Bakery has enjoyed an unparalleled reputation for its high-quality fresh breads and sub rolls. Our unique recipe, combined with our strong commitment to serving our customers, has resulted in a legacy that has grown and flourished ever since Francisco Formica made Formica Freitag the legendary business that it is today, said Norcross.
Now, the bakery has reached new heights after spending more than two years to perfect a version of their famous Atlantic City bread that can be frozen and thawed … where it returns to fresh, just baked high quality.
Norcross confirmed during our live on-air interview yesterday that the Formica Freitag Atlantic City bread can be frozen for up to 6 months and taste as good as the day it was baked.
We caught-up with Frank Formica yesterday, who shared incredible details about this product:
It is all about the bread and relationships Since biblical times breaking bread has been a staple in the history of mankind. Formica’s Bakery has a small percentage of that history with 105 years of continuous service. Another Iconic Bakery from Camden, NJ, Freitag Bakery, carved out their own piece of history from 1890 well into the 20th century. The two families merged their 2 centuries worth of legacies, in 2022 to form Formica-Freitag Bakery. Formicas and George Norcross, Freitag Bakery Family, formed with the vision to deliver "The Bread That Made Atlantic City Famous" nationwide. Patrick (Mangraviti) McKenna, partner and Taste of Italy, LLC owner, Frank D. Formica, and Frank McGlynn, Production Manager have perfected a fully baked, frozen Atlantic City Sub Bread. For 2 years using the historic recipe of Francesco Formica, they experimented, produced and perfected a 10-inch Atlantic City Sub bread that is fully baked and frozen, said Formica.
Here is how they do it, along with a few testimonials:
The recipe is enhanced with only "Clean Label" all natural and no allergen ingredients that give the product a 6-month frozen shelf life and once thawed a 2-day usability. And of course, the water source used in all recipes is exclusively from the nationally renowned Kirkwood-Cohansey Aquifer. The unique advantage over "brown and Serve" bread is that the end user doesn't need to re-heat or bake-off the product. During the testing phase, samples were sent to individuals and businesses nationwide, who already had a knowledge of Atlantic City Bread. The results were unanimous. Recipients could not believe their tongues; all reported it was the real deal, AC Bread. The highest compliment came from local sub shop owner legend Al Sacco, Sack-O subs: It was so good that I couldn't distinguish the taste and quality of the frozen bread thawed, from the fresh bread delivered.
In March of this year a state-of-the-art freezer was built measuring 80 feet by 80 feet and 20 feet high at a cost of over 1 million dollars to store a stock of frozen products that could keep up with national demand.
Customers expressing serious interest in the "Bread That Made Atlantic City Famous" are:
- Wawa
- Jersey Mike's
- Hard Rock Tampa and Hollywood
- Saker ShopRite's
- Ravitz ShopRite's
- Cousin Subs (100 shops)
This is along with many local market users.
We can also confirm that on June 4, 2024, Formica-Freitag bakery proudly announced the appointment of Daniel Mulloy as its new Chief Executive Officer.
Mulloy brings more than 40 years of executive leadership in the baking industry. He was the immediate former Senior Director of operations of a Major Bakery that produced and distributed frozen breads nationwide. His roots are in Cape May and Atlantic County.
Here is a look at this great Atlantic City bread:
Bon appétit.
SOURCES: George E. Norcross, III & Frank D. Formica.
Now, please enjoy below, our two photo galleries of great food items in the Atlantic City area and another with favorite comfort foods that were submitted by our readers and on-air listeners, family member foodies and friends.
Atlantic City Area Readers Submit Cell Photos Of Favorite Meals
Gallery Credit: Harry Hurley
Atlantic City Area Readers Submit Favorite Winter Comfort Foods
Gallery Credit: Harry Hurley