
2008
Jessamyn Waldman Rodriguez founds

2009
NYC restaurants and GrowNYC Greenmarkets begin selling bread
NYC restaurants and GrowNYC Greenmarkets begin selling bread baked by the women in our program.
TODAY: Our workforce curriculum expands well beyond the kitchen and our bread is baked by partners who share our values. Hot Bread Kitchen products are sold across the Northeast, with 100% of profits feeding our mission.
2010
Hot Bread Kitchen moves into East Harlem’s La Marqueta
Hot Bread Kitchen moves into East Harlem’s La Marqueta and our incubator program launches, providing shared commercial kitchen space and support for women, immigrant, and minority entrepreneurs launching food businesses in NYC.
TODAY: Space is just the beginning for our Incubator members. Our entrepreneurs become part of a culinary community with access to training, expertise, markets and networks.

2012
Hot Bread Kitchen “Almacen,” Hot Bread Kitchen’s first retail location
Hot Bread Kitchen “Almacen,” Hot Bread Kitchen’s first retail location, opens at La Marqueta carrying Hot Bread Kitchen’s full line of bread and products from the Incubator’s culinary businesses.
TODAY: Hot Bread Kitchen Incubator Alumni Amuse Bouche has taken over the stall at La Marqueta and offers lunch and dinner daily.

2015
The Hot Bread Kitchen Cookbook is published
“The Hot Bread Kitchen Cookbook” is published, winning the 2015 Yahoo! Food Cookbook of the Year and the Food52 Piglet Award! Alongside the recipes, you’ll find the story of Hot Bread Kitchen and the women and small business owners who are an integral part of our story.
Shop the Hot Bread Kitchen cookbook at most booksellers and online.

2016
Our incubator helps launch 36 food business start ups
Our incubator helps launch 36 diverse food businesses selling everything from desserts to tamales to popcorn (like Pipsnacks!)
TODAY: We have served 250+ food businesses, 90% of which are run by women and people of color. Read more about our Incubator.
2017
Our training program moves out of the bakery and into the International Culinary Center
Our training program moves out of the bakery and into the International Culinary Center in Soho. The world-renowned cooking school provides in-kind space to hold our new curriculum that expands into a broader culinary arts curriculum, more effectively meet employer needs and increase the amount of women we can serve.
TODAY: Hot Bread Kitchen places 100+ women per year in jobs in the food industry with 50+ employment partners across New York City.
2018
Jessamyn Waldman Rodriguez hands over the reins to new CEO, Shaolee Sen.
Jessamyn Waldman Rodriguez hands over the reins to new CEO, Shaolee Sen.
TODAY: Shaolee helped Hot Bread Kitchen quadruple the number of women served. Read about Hot Bread Kitchen’s first decade and vision for the future in “Investing in Breadwinners: 10 Years of Impact”

2019
We surpass our goal to quadruple the number of women placed in jobs
We surpass our goal to quadruple the number of women placed in jobs from 2016-2019 and place 108 women with 50+ employer partners in New York City.
TODAY: We continue to refine and strengthen our workforce model to couple culinary training with wrap-around services and long-term support for our alumni. Learn more about our workforce program.

2019
Hot Bread Kitchen launches “Entrepreneur in Residence”
Hot Bread Kitchen launches “Entrepreneur in Residence” program at Chelsea Market, providing key Manhattan retail access to small businesses.

2019
We relaunch our best-selling challah braid
Hot Bread Kitchen relaunches our best-selling traditional challah braid and Parker House Rolls—now kosher!
2020
Prior to COVID-19 Pandemic
NYC:
- 315,000 people employed in the food industry (NYC Current Employment Statistics (CES) History).
- Two-thirds of all workers in the city’s face-to-face industries earn less than $40,000 annually (Parrot).
Hot Bread Kitchen:
- 64 active member small businesses.
- 160 alumnae of our workforce program were actively employed in jobs in food and 28 recent graduates were preparing to enter the workforce.

2020
Hot Bread Kitchen opens a new 11,000 square-foot headquarters in Brooklyn
Hot Bread Kitchen opens a new 11,000 square-foot headquarters in Brooklyn, bringing their programs together under one roof and deepening support for women and entrepreneurs.
2020
March 12—20, 2020
NYC:
- Mayor DeBlasio declared a State of Emergency, closing bars, restaurants, and cafes, and announced all schools would shift to distance learning.
- 31,000 food workers made a new unemployment claim in the first 7 days (Initial Claims Data).
Hot Bread Kitchen:
- Initiated outreach to members to understand job status, business revenue loss, and financial support plans.
- Launched an emergency hotline to receive member concerns and questions and make Hot Bread Kitchen resources accessible.
2020
March 22—23, 2020
NYC:
Governor Cuomo closed all non-essential businesses as New York State goes into PAUSE on March 22.
Hot Bread Kitchen:
Launched one-on-one and group technical assistance to help over 200 members apply for unemployment and public benefits and accessing emergency food.
2020
March 29, 2020
NYC:
- 2,637% increase in the number of unemployment claims in NYC from this time period in 2019, including over a 4,150% increase in claims in the Accommodation and Food Services industry statewide (Initial Claims Data).
- 2 out of 3 of all restaurant workers lost their jobs on a temporary or permanent basis (Parrot).
Hot Bread Kitchen:
- Disbursed first emergency checks, which would ultimately help 177 members weather the gap between income loss and delayed unemployment payments.
- Started offering resource guides to help members navigate unemployment and public benefits applications.
2020
April—May 2020
NYC:
- Payroll Protection Program (PPP) loan applications open: 12% percent of NYC businesses approved to receive PPP loans (“The Failures of the PPP in NYC”).
- Unemployment rate in NYC reaches 20% (“NYS Economy Added 296,400 Private Sector Jobs in June 2020”).
- 2.9 million people applied for unemployment in New York since March (Initial Claims Data).
Hot Bread Kitchen:
- Launched emergency meals campaign to achieve dual goals of funding small businesses and providing meals to hospital workers.
- Offered rent-free kitchen space to 5 small businesses providing over 25,000 emergency meals.
- Launched public hotline for all food workers, in addition to our alumnae, to provide assistance with applying for unemployment and public benefits.
- Continued support for members, including emergency stipends, PPP loan applications, unemployment applications, and other referrals.
2020
June 2020
George Floyd is killed by police in Minneapolis on May 25, triggering massive Black Lives Matter protests across the U.S. and around the world.
Hot Bread Kitchen:
Re-committed to anti-racism work and solidarity with Black Lives Matter movement and BIPOC, including a refocus on a staff-led DEIA committee and creating safe-space community conversations for our members.