RBA Roadshow Chicago - Sponsored by RATIONAL USA

Starts: Jun 15, 2026 08:00:00 AM (CT)
Ends: Jun 16, 2026 03:00:00 PM (CT)

RBA Roadshow Chicago: People, Purpose, and Building a Bakery Team That Lasts

The baking industry is in the middle of a staffing crisis that isn't going away on its own. Wages have gone up, applicant pools have shrunk, and the workers coming into the industry have different expectations than the ones who came before them. At the RBA Roadshow Chicago, you'll spend two days learning how to recruit and retain the next generation of baking professionals — from experts who study this, owners who've built it, and bakeries in Chicago that are doing it well.

Join us June 15–16 in Chicago. Day 1 is a full day of programming, demos, and conversation at RATIONAL USA's facility in Rolling Meadows. Day 2 takes you behind the scenes at three of Chicago's most thoughtfully run bakeries. Space is capped at 30 attendees. It's small enough that you'll be able to talk to the speakers, connect with the other owners in the room, and leave with a plan to implement on Monday.

Day 1: Programming at RATIONAL USA Monday, June 15 | Rolling Meadows, IL

Spend the day at RATIONAL USA's professional facility in Rolling Meadows for a full day of expert-led sessions, hands-on equipment demos, and dedicated time to connect with fellow bakery professionals. Breakfast and lunch are provided.

Heidi Hedeker teaches at Kendall College and researches the relationship between bakeries and the communities they serve. Her session, "Engaging NextGen Employees through Intrapreneurship," focuses on the incoming workforce of ages 14 to 29, the first truly digital-native generation. They're value-driven and entrepreneurially minded, and they want purpose, growth, and a real stake in what they're building. Heidi will draw on examples from bakeries that have turned that into an asset, and help you think through how to build a workplace that keeps good people without losing sight of the business.

Nancie Breunig is the Chief Happiness Officer at Companion Baking, a title that reflects exactly how seriously Companion takes the employee side of running a bakery. Her session, "From Culture to Compensation," walks through the full framework she's built at Companion: starting with how to define your core values and the culture they create, moving into how to structure reviews and compensation (traditional and nontraditional) that reflect those values, and finishing with training and development systems that turn new hires into people who grow with your business. Attendees will leave with a clear next steps plan they can bring back to their own operation.

A third speaker is forthcoming — check back for updates.

Day 2: Chicago Bakery Tours Tuesday, June 16

Three stops at three very different operations, all worth the visit — and all run by people with something to teach about building a bakery worth working at.

Publican Quality Bread (West Town) has been central to Chicago's artisan bread scene since 2014. Led by James Beard Award-winning baker Greg Wade, PQB is built on direct relationships with Midwest farmers, sourcing organic heritage grains from Spence Farm and Janie's Mill, stone-milled and worked into loaves through long natural fermentation. The bakery also supplies the bread program for the full One Off Hospitality restaurant group — proof that serious craft can scale without compromise.

pHlour Bakery & Cafe (Edgewater) has built its reputation on long-fermented sourdoughs, organic ingredients, and a handcrafted approach that runs through everything from their croissants to their wholesale program. With a dedicated neighborhood following and a commitment to traditional techniques, pHlour represents the kind of community-rooted bakery that defines what independent retail baking can look like at its best.

Verzênay (Lincoln Park) started as a tent at Green City Market in 2014 and opened its storefront in 2021. Founded by Chef Arshiya Farheen, who trained at Ferrandi in Paris and worked at Le Meurice and Arnaud Delmontel before bringing her practice to Chicago, Verzênay is grounded in classical French technique with a sourcing philosophy built around Midwest farmers and integrity at every step. It's also a business with a clear point of view on what a workplace can be — Verzênay actively employs and trains women in the culinary field, with financial independence and career growth built into how they operate.

Vendor Networking

Connect with suppliers and industry partners throughout both days.