Gov. Larry Hogan gave a governor’s citation to H&S truck driver Ron Hill, left, who distributed free bread to gridlocked travelers on I-95 in January. Gov. Hogan also recognized Chuck Paterakis, right, principal owner and vice president of the Baltimore-based H&S Family of Bakeries for its generosity during the crisis. Photo by Joe Andrucyk

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The owners of H&S Family of Bakeries, JR, Bill, Chuck and Steve Paterakis, are the descendants of Steve Paterakis, one of the company’s original founders in 1934. Photo courtesy of Baltimore Museum of Industry

On a frigid day in January, a stretch of Interstate 95 became a 10-mile-long parking lot. Stranded by ice and snow, hundreds of drivers just south of Washington, including a U.S. senator, were trapped in their cars for nearly 40 hours, shivering and starving.

Gazing hungrily at a stranded bakery truck near their car, Casey Holihan Noe, an Ellicott City resident, and her husband, John Noe, decided to act.

She called the Baltimore-based bakery’s customer service number, pleading that they share the truck’s contents with travelers. Within 20 minutes, she received a call from the company’s leadership: Yes. Take it all.

“When Casey took the initiative to reach out and let us know about all of the travelers stranded on that icy highway, it was without question or pause that we would…help those hungry and in need,” said Chuck Paterakis, vice president of transportation and logistics at H&S Family of Bakeries, in a statement. “As a family-owned business, we are able to be nimble and mobilize quickly.”

With Paterakis’ permission, the truck driver, Ron Hill, unlocked his back hatch. He and the Noes trudged up and down the icy highway, knocking on car windows and passing out 600 loaves of whole-wheat bread and potato rolls through rolled-down windows.

Thankfully, no one lost their life in the treacherous traffic jam.

News of the generous act “went viral quickly,” bakery spokesman Shawn Paterakis told the Beacon. He received 7,000 emails over five days while getting the word out.

Most media outlets covered the story, and the Noes were interviewed on several talk shows. Gov. Larry Hogan awarded H&S Bakery, Ron Hill and the Noes a governor’s citation on Jan. 13.

“It has touched our hearts that our good deed resonated with so many people. We are just happy that people were fed and safe,” Casey Holihan Noe told the Beacon.

“Everything else was sweet.”

Modest beginnings, lucky break

The beloved H&S Bakery opened in 1943 in a rented rowhouse on Fagley Street in Highlandtown. Greek immigrants Harry Tsakalos and Isodore “Steve” Paterakis started Athens Bakery there, baking loaves in a hearth oven for Baltimore delis and restaurants.

The bakery’s big break came in 1965, when Ray Kroc made a handshake deal with Steve’s son, John Paterakis Sr., to supply bread to his hamburger chain, McDonald’s.

“I’m just a little Greek baker that got lucky,” the late John Paterakis Sr. used to say.

Under Paterakis, the company grew from a corner bakery to the behemoth it is today. The H&S Family of Bakeries includes H&S Bakery, Northeast Foods and, since 2004, Schmidt Baking Company, founded in Baltimore in 1886. (Schmidt’s advertising jingle, “I like bread and butter / I like toast and jam” made its Old Tyme products memorable in our area.)

Chances are you’ve tasted H&S bread. The company still supplies rolls to McDonald’s — over half of their U.S. franchises — as well as Chick-Fil-A, Roy Rogers, Popeyes, Olive Garden, and 90 percent of Maryland’s public schools. They also sell their products in national supermarket chains such as Costco, Safeway and Giant.

Still true to its roots, the company supplies bread to local restaurants, including Ikaros in East Baltimore and Jenning’s Café in Catonsville.

Commitment to charity

Today, the four owners of H&S Family of Bakeries, who are in their 60s and 70s, work from a historic brick warehouse on the corner of South Caroline and Fleet Streets in Fells Point.

“A lot of people in Baltimore still don’t know the full extent of the story,” said Shawn Paterakis, great-grandson of the co-founder. “That was a generational thing: Always keep humble.”

But like it or not, January’s I-95 story brought a national spotlight to the massive but modest company.

“We tend to not like to promote ourselves,” he said. “But this was a great thing. We’re happy people can see we live by our values.”

In its 79-year history, H&S Bakery has made a point to donate to the needy. During the early days of the pandemic, for instance, the company donated 3 million loaves of bread to Maryland schools and charities, according to Chuck Paterakis.

“The core values of giving back and doing the right thing have been instilled in our company since the very beginning,” he said.

Expanding this year

H&S Family of Bakeries will launch a new company this year: an artisan bakery. To be located off Central Avenue in Harbor East, Knead Bakeshop and Café is the brainchild of the youngest generation of the Paterakis family, many of whom are employed at the company.

In addition, this year the company will add eight new depots to its 30 distribution sites along the East Coast.

As for the Noes, they are making moves, too. Last month, they headed to Germany, where John is stationed in the U.S. Air Force.

“They are the true heroes of this story, and are deserving of recognition and gratitude from their community — and everyone involved in this very scary incident,” Chuck Paterakis said.

“For us, we are just honored and grateful that we found ourselves in a position to be of service.”

For more information about H&S, visit hsbakery.com. Read about the opening of Kneads Bakeshop and Café at kneadsbakeshop.com or call (410) 365-2758.