Golden Krust CEO found dead in Bronx factory after apparent suicide

Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Lowell Hawthorne, the CEO of Golden Krust Caribbean Bakery & Grill, killed himself in his Bronx, N.Y. factory on Saturday, according to police.

The New York City Medical Examiner's office said Hawthorne died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. He was 57.

"Our hearts are broken, and we are struggling to process our grief over this tremendous loss," the Golden Krust company said in a statement on Sunday. "Lowell was a visionary, entrepreneur, community champion, and above all a committed father, family man, friend and man of faith."

"He was a good boss, humble and a good businessman," former employee Pete Tee, 27, told the New York Daily News. "He never seemed sad. This is just terrible news right now."

Hawthorne was known as one of the most successful Jamaican immigrants in the United States with his highly popular Golden Krust Jamaican patties.

Hawthorne came to the United States in 1981 at the age of 21 and, after studying accounting at Bronx Community College, worked as an accountant for the New York City Police Department's pension program. In 1989, he and his family opened a small bakery in the Bronx in 1989. Over the next 28 years, Golden Krust grew immensely in popularity and size.

"I want to be the next McDonald's," Hawthorne told the Miami Herald in 2004. "When we started the company, I couldn't have imagined that. But I think that can happen in the next 10 years."

Today, Golden Krust has 120 locations in nine different states and sells products in the frozen food aisle of large grocery store chains. And among Caribbean immigrants in the United States, it's a household name.

Hawthorne's story is considered an inspirational one for other immigrants and minorities in the United States.

"Look how far he reached. He's known from here to Jamaica," Hawthorne family friend Wayne Muschamb said told the New York Daily News.

In a Facebook post written on Nov. 28, Hawthorne reflected on his gratefulness for his success.

"I was always in search of the next honest means to make a dollar. Like many transplanted Caribbean nationals, I struggled to work and raise a family," Hawthorne wrote. "I can only thank God for everything I have achieved, and if my story here can inspire others to rise up and give it a go, then I would have succeeded in doing something meaningful."