Dan Graf, a genetics major who dropped out of Rutgers, founded Baron Baking in Oakland, Calif., after working in a delicatessen. The son of a Bergen County, N.J., contractor, he grew up accompanying his father to jobs on weekends. Stopping for bagels was part of the ritual. After moving to California, he worked for two years at Saul’s Restaurant and Delicatessen in Berkeley, where he became fascinated with baking. He began baking bagels in his apartment and eventually won an account with his…
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