Corner Bakery with Marques Ray

"Corner Bakery with Marques Ray" is Episode 383 of *Doughboys*, hosted by Nick Wiger and Mike Mitchell. "Corner Bakery with Marques Ray" was released on February 2, 2023.

## Synopsis

Marques Ray (*Curb Your Enthusiasm*, *Superstore*, *Brewster High*) joins the 'boys to discuss ice cream flavors, on-set snacks, and bidets before a review of Corner Bakery. Plus, a brand new segment, Chew Truths, and a Fry.

## Nick's intro

Baby boomers: this generation of Americans began spawning after the cessation of World War II in 1946, as returning GIs got to the busy work of railing their wives.

And while boomers themselves catch a lot of the blame for contemporary America’s ecologically ruined, economically bifurcated dystopia, it was their equally shitty parents, the so-called “greatest generation” as fawningly dubbed by journalist Tom Brokaw, that set the wheels in motion, as the year 1946 birthed not just the first wave of Karens, but the modern idea of private equity — giant pools of money managed by psychopath capitalists that exist only to overtake businesses and extract as much profit as possible, like money-milking Metroids.

This predatory practice has come to impact every sector of the American economy — including food, most famously in the hostile takeover of RJR Nabisco in the 1980s, chronicled in the book and film, *Barbarians at the Gate*. And so naturally, many beloved chain restaurants these days are controlled by private-equity firms: Argonne Capital owns IHOP and Applebee’s; Golden Gate Capital oversees CPK and Red Lobster, and in 2020, Roark Capital Group (owner of Arby’s and Jimmy John’s) transferred ownership of a breakfast- and lunch-focused sit-down chain to Rohan Group (owner of Boston Market).

This cafe was originally founded, fittingly, on a *corner* in Chicago in 1991, and had an eager patronage from the office lunch set, as well as people looking for a spot to kill time and sip coffee, eventually expanding to nearly 200 locations nationwide. Around the turn of the millennium, its founding owner, the punnily named Lettuce Entertain You, began a series of sales that saw the company changing hands a half-dozen times until the hot potato landed with its current stewardship.

So while the name may evoke a mom-and-pop local baker of postwar Main Street USA, its corporate ownership reflects the more important postwar reality: an anonymous, unaccountable glob of money management.

This week on *Doughboys*… Corner Bakery Cafe.

## Fork rating

* Cheddar Broccoli Soup
* Family Meal
	+ Turkey Avocado Cobb Salad (no bacon)
	+ Chopped Salad [Natalie's Order]
	+ Chicken Pomodori Panini
	+ Pesto Cavatappi
* Peach Baby Bundt Cake
* Maple Pecan Bar
* Six Cookies (Chocolate Chip and Monster)
 Mike Mitchell
* Chicken Pomodori Panini
* Side Salad (Italian Dressing)
 Marques Ray
* Rustic Italian Panini
 Mitch and Marques shared
* Chicken Carbonara
* Loaded Baked Potato Soup
* Roasted Tomato Basil Soup
* Chocolate Baby Bundt Cake
* Monster Cookie
* English Toffee Cookie

**Spoonman's Bite of the Night** went to both the Mac & Cheese and the Chicken Carbonara.

## Chew Truths and a Fry

In this debut of a new quiz segment, Nick gives two truths and a lie about a chain, and Mitch and the guests try to figure out the lie.

Mitch wins!

## Quotes

**Mitch**: I don't know how you do an unfunny Mr. Bean.

## The Feedbag

 Mike Mitchell
 Marques Roy

## Photos

Family Meal: Chopped Salad, Turkey Avocado Cobb Salad, Chicken Pomodori Panini, Pesto CavatappiChicken Pomodori Panini, Cheddar Broccoli SoupPeach Baby Bundt Cake, Maple Pecan BarChicken Pomodori Panini, Side SaladChicken CarbonaraLoaded Baked Potato SoupChocolate Baby Bundt Cake