Bush Brothers and Company
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bush Brothers and Company is a family-owned corporation based in Knoxville, Tennessee, best known for its baked beans and more than 40 other related products. It operates plants in Augusta, Wisconsin and Chestnut Hill, Tennessee.
The company was founded in 1908 by A.J. (Andrew Jackson) Bush, along with his oldest sons Fred and Claude, as a tomato cannery. The company incorporated in 1922, and expanded quickly, adding three packing plants. The company prospered until 1943, when it faced a setback by the Tennessee Valley Authority. The government agency seized the company's major plant by eminent domain, and flooded all the Bush farmland. One year later, the company purchased the Arkansas-based Blytheville Canning Company.
Over the years, the company slowly expanded, finally reaching nationwide distribution in the mid-1990s, and Bush's products become the nation's top selling baked bean brand. "Bush's Original Baked Beans" is based on a secret family recipe that the company guards closely. The company's recognizable advertisements feature company spokesperson Jay Bush and his golden retriever named "Duke", who frequently offers to sell the secret family recipe. Jay Bush is the great grandson of founder A.J. Bush.
