Baking & Snack - February 2023 - 39

OPERATIONS
Rotella's Italian Bakery
The Guts to
GROW
Lou Rotella Sr. saw automation as the path to growth for Rotella's
Italian Bakery, a track he sprinted down without looking back.
by Charlotte Atchley
L
Lou Rotella Sr. dreamed of one day having one of
the best bakeries in the United States. At this year's
American Society of Baking's BakingTech conference in
March, he will be inducted into the Baking Hall of Fame
for achieving that dream with his son Lou Rotella Jr.,
president and chief executive officer of Rotella's Italian
Bakery, La Vista, Neb.
" So far my dad's dream has come true because he's being
honored for having one of the best bakeries in the
country, and I'm so glad that I have gotten to be a part of
it, " Lou Rotella Jr. said.
Lou Rotella Sr.'s vision for the bakery he took over
from his father, Alessandro, the founder, grew from a
regional wholesale operation to a nationwide supplier
of buns, rolls and bread to foodservice and retail operations.
Lou Rotella Jr. attributes that leap to his father's
ambition to invest in the business as well as his ability
to empower his son, son-in-law and nephew to try new
processes, equipment and even launch product lines.
These ambitions and values continue today as the fourth
generation steps into leadership roles.
The family-owned company also celebrated its 100th
anniversary in 2021, which is a reflection of a bakery
that has been investing nearly nonstop to keep up with
demand for its quality baked goods and commitment to
customer service.
A family tradition
The Rotellas have been growing wheat, milling wheat
or baking for as far back as the family can trace. In 1850,
Domenico Rotella lived in Calabria, Italy, milling his own
flour that he used to bake bread in a small wood-fired
oven and sold to villagers. His son Alessandro immigrated
to the US in 1910 with his wife and daughter and settled
in Omaha, Neb. After working for street cars and the railroads,
Alessandro Rotella found himself out of work during
a 1921 strike, after which he bought a small bakery at
21st
month. Alessandro and his wife, Maria, delivered fresh
handmade bread to customers by horse-drawn carriages
throughout Omaha, establishing a reputation for quality.
In 1948, their son Lou Rotella Sr. returned from serving
in the US Army in Germany during World War II
and took over the family business with his older brother,
Ameado. Lou Rotella Sr. was committed to maintaining
Rotella's Italian Bakery's reputation for quality bread.
" From my grandfather to my father, all you had to
learn was how to be a baker, how to bake bread, " Lou
Rotella Jr. said. " When it got to me, I had to learn how to
run a business. "
At its start, Rotella's Italian Bakery made a handful of
products: hoagies, hard rolls, the twist roll and Vienna
roll as well as a pastry and cake portfolio. All of it was
done by hand and delivered fresh daily. Today, the bakery
offers about 500 SKUs of both fresh and frozen bread
products that are sold to retail and foodservice accounts
nationwide including restaurants, national chains and
commercial assemblers. Between the two poles of this
history lie a healthy amount of ambition, hard work,
forward-thinking and sometimes luck.
An expanding operation
The Rotella family is not afraid of progress. In fact, the
Rotellas have embraced it with Lou Rotella Sr. being the
www.bakingbusiness.com / February 2023 Baking & Snack 39
and Pierce Street from a local businessman for $25 per
Rotella's makes
use of its vertical
space by placing
both the proofer and
spiral cooler upstairs
above the tunnel
oven. After proofing,
buns travel downstairs
to be scored,
glazed and baked
before heading back
upstairs for cooling.
Photography by David Radler
http://www.bakingbusiness.com
Baking & Snack - February 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Baking & Snack - February 2023
