Bank of Nevada and BON Breads:  Growing a Family Business 

When Carlos Pereira was looking to expand his family-owned artisan bread company, several bankers advised him to move slowly, buy an existing building and not take too much risk. But Carlos and his wife, Kathia, who both immigrated to Nevada from Lima, Peru, in the mid-1990s knew they understood the dynamics of their own business better than anyone else.

Since 1999, when the Pereiras opened their Bon Breads bakery in a small 1,100-square-foot building on Industrial Road in Las Vegas and then moved to their current 27,000-square-foot facility on Hacienda Avenue in 2000, sales had been continuously climbing an average of 24 percent a year. Today, Bon Breads produces more than 200 different kinds of naturally fermented breads – between 50,000 and 70,000 loaves a day. In fact, Carlos proudly boasts that most of the breads displayed at the best restaurants on the Las Vegas Strip come from his bakery.

Carlos knew it was time to build a brand new, state-of-the-art and much needed larger bakery. The lending team at Bank of Nevada  agreed with the Pereiras and quickly stepped forward to fund the $6 million 45,000-square-foot facility that is currently under construction near Interstate 215 and Decatur Avenue. Completion is anticipated sometime later this year.

“Bank of Nevada was very excited to help us,” Carlos says. “The people I worked with there were very knowledgeable and said I should go forward and build a new building."

Also, what impressed Carlos and Kathia was how quickly Bank of Nevada moved to make funds available to purchase new equipment imported from Europe. “While other banks said they required a longer lead-time to transfer funds internationally, Bank of Nevada moved much faster to make funds available,” Carlos says.

Especially important to the Pereiras was the special attention they received from the bank’s senior management.   John Guedry, President and COO, visited the Pereira’s new site during the construction, which truly impressed the Las Vegas entrepreneurs.

“I was very happy that the president of the bank came by,” Carlos says. “They take their business very personally. Now, I am doing business with Bank of Nevada.”

“Our team at Bank of Nevada is honored to have the opportunity to make Carlos and Kathia’s dream of having a new, state-of-the-art bakery come true,” Guedry says. “This is a core part of our mission at Bank of Nevada – helping  businesses move forward, grow and prosper. Small companies like Bon Breads are the backbone of our economy, and we at Bank of Nevada are excited at the opportunities that lie ahead to help other businesses just like Bon Breads fulfill their financial needs.”

Bon Bread’s I-215 and Decatur Avenue site rests on 6 acres and eventually Carlos would like to expand it to 110,000 square feet. Carlos says he knows Bank of Nevada will be there for him when that  time comes.

Today, Carlos no longer works 20 hours a day, seven days a week but still puts in on average 10 hours each day with two days off, if his busy schedule allows.

Kathia, who’s also an attorney, handles all the administrative functions of the business, while Carlos personally oversees the production process. The couple has four young children, three boys and a new baby daughter.

"What’s important to me are the human relationships,” Carlos says reflecting on his business experience with Bank of Nevada. “They spent time with me to discuss my dreams and how they could help me achieve them. Bank of Nevada gave me the freedom to move my business forward.”