What bakery could have possibly predicted a delay in its contingency plans for expansion due to a volcano? Yet, when engineers, programmers and other experts responsible for the installation of the bakery’s new threedeck tunnel oven were stranded in Europe following Iceland’s volcano eruption on May 11, that’s exactly what Labriola Baking Co. faced.

In spite of the setback, this Alsip, Ill.- based bakery successfully made the transition from its cramped 65,000-sq.- ft. plant to a 175,000-sq.-ft. newly remodeled, streamlined facility. After running production in the old facility on the Saturday of the Memorial Day holiday weekend, the bakery started up full production in its new building the following Monday.  e additional space gives the bakery plenty of room to meet its expected sales growth potential of more than 60 percent in the next five years.

Labriola Baking’s sales volume is expected to reach $22.5 million by year end. Its prestigious customer base ranges from Trump hotels to famous chefs and restaurateurs, including Rick Bayless and Wolfgang Puck. Even so, the bakery’s owner and president, Rich Labriola, who refers to himself as chief dough boy, sees no limit to the bakery’s growth potential. Labriola’s foresight isn’t just about the bakery’s expanded production capability, but his belief in the quality of his artisan bread.

Fulfilling a niche

Labriola Baking was founded 17 years ago after Labriola moved from the distributor side of the business to baking. “I put a targeted plan together to open a bakery in December 1993 and began baking, selling and delivering French and Italian bread out of a 10,000-sq.-ft. bakery,” he says.

High-quality, authentic artisan bread has always been Labriola’s primary focus. “I spent several years learning how to bake, and learned how to love to bake,” he says. After noticing a void in artisan breads, he seized the opportunity and ran with it, acquiring his first major account with Spago, Wolfgang Puck’s famous restaurant. Gradually, Labriola learned how to become more efficient without sacrificing quality.

In 2008, Labriola opened Labriola Bakery Café in Oak Brook, Ill., which features his bakery’s freshly baked breads and pastries. “I opened the café for brand recognition,” he says. “Everything has worked flawlessly. The café, which brings in $4 to $5 million, was featured in the Chicago Tribune for having the best burger in the city. The burger is served on a pretzel bun. It has been good for the bakery and good for wholesaling, too,” Labriola adds.

Taking a step forward

“Currently, the company bakes hundreds of different types of products, ranging from fresh and frozen artisan pan breads to pastries,” says Terry Dempsey, vice president of finance. “About 96 percent of current revenues are from the sale of breads, with the remaining 4 percent from pastry sales. Labriola distributes its breads and pastries to more than 1,200 customers in the Chicago metro area with a fleet of 30 trucks that service an equal number of routes. The company services and delivers to customers within an 80-mile radius of its bakery, as well as routes to Milwaukee and Indianapolis.”

“In addition to the fresh market, we believe there is substantial opportunity to increase [our share] of both the regional and national frozen market,” Dempsey adds. “ e national market for frozen bread is expected to grow about 5 percent per year for the next five years … Given the market potential, we believe we can ultimately become an important participant in the national frozen bread segment.”

However, Labriola Baking’s older facility was never set up for frozen production. Product had to move across departments. Three or four years ago, management decided they had to overcome these constraints through expansion, but the idea was abandoned a year and a half ago because “the economy tanked,” Labriola says. “Thee cost of equipment was just too much, and the exchange rate made it hard to do business.”

Eventually, market conditions made acquisition of a new building possible.  e company was able to secure the facility for 10 years, while keeping rent close to the same amount as for its older plant for part of that time, Dempsey notes. “Our investment in the new facility will be around $10 million when we are finished.”

A 12-month plan stretched into 18 months because of various delays, including the volcano eruption. And although not all equipment has been moved, the new facility is up and running at full production.

Hands-on production

Part of the production floor is allotted to pastry production, complete with a cold room for croissant dough. Most of the pastry is made by hand. “People who work in the pastry department have the skill and affinity for it,” says Rick Rodrick, director of operations. “You need people with artistic ability, plus they need to pound it out.”

Labriola Baking produces a wide range of pastries, from decadent cakes and croissants to cookies, muffins and pies. Its apple pie, for instance, is made with three kinds of apples selected for optimum eating quality, Rodrick notes.

Pastries are baked in a revolving deck oven. Decks rotate around a single shaft. A deck oven will give a little more oven spring, and you don’t get as many hot spots as with a convection oven, Rodrick explains.

“All artisan bread products have been made the same way since the bakery’s inception–using starters, retarders and shaped by hand. The operation has just grown larger,” Labriola says.

Artisan bread is defined by the use of a starter, the make up process and how it is baked, Rodrick notes. The starter is kept in a separate facility and brought in for mixing. The mixing process is closely monitored. “You have to be able to add ingredients as you go, and you have to be able to see the dough so you know when to add secondary ingredients,” he adds.

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