Growing-up in the region of Edgar/Coles County in beautiful Central Illinois, one of the many things that made that area special was the fact that Mattoon considered itself "The Bagel Capital of the World".
That was because Lender's Bagels moved to town in 1986 and set-up shop on the northwest edge of town. That same year, the Lender family started the annual festival called "Bagelfest". To my knowledge, it's been held every year since.
However, the plant has been sold.
For the 6th time!
Lender's -> Kraft -> Kellogg -> Aurora Foods -> Pinnacle -> Conagra -> Grupo Bimbo
That's a lot of signage changes!
Bagelfest has survived thru the first 5 changes. Will it survive through #6?
Grupo Bimbo (Mexican) bills itself as the world's largest baking company. It owns many other brands including Ball Park (buns), Entenmann's, and Sara Lee.
Hopefully, they show Mattoon a little love.
Grace & Peace & Love to you all -
Matt