René Becker - Hi-Rise Bread Company
Charles Cherney
Passionate about teaching after graduating from Harvard, I ultimately found myself drawn into the world of real estate in Cambridge and Somerville...
Passionate about teaching after graduating from Harvard, I ultimately found myself drawn into the world of real estate in Cambridge and Somerville...
Meet René Becker, founder and owner of Hi-Rise Bread Company in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
René Becker opened Hi-Rise in 1996 with a crew of six, big ideas, and a simple goal: to make staple homey foods better than home-made. He started with bread — using organic wheat, rye, and corn from independent mills — and soon moved to pastries, incorporating extra-rich European-style butter and local fruits for pies and tarts. Naturally, soups and sandwiches came next utilizing the same philosophy of house made and hand selected ingredients.
The trend continued over the years and now Hi-Rise has a long list of products made daily including breads, cakes, cookies, granola, preserves, and crackers. Along with a wide variety of sandwiches, Hi-rise offers dinners sold fresh and frozen, from pot pies and stews to lasagnas with house-made pasta.
Hi-Rise remains faithful to the goal of making simple food very well. Now it’s very much a family business, comprised of Rene, his spouse Cynthia, and their daughter Lucie, all of whom are seen most days at Hi-Rise or around the Observatory Hill neighborhood where they live.