Velocity - Magazine - Page 18
FROM FELON TO CHEF
by Jennifer Snyder
At Bill Radtke’s second-chance kitchen, the language is part
of the curriculum. No one is a felon. Everyone is a chef.
employer to actually see a
candidate before deciding
whether to take a chance.
The first time anyone called Dave
“chef,” he had just led a press through
140 sandwiches at a Lincoln pop up. His
15 years of kitchen experience finally
lined up with someone willing to call
him by what he could do instead of what
he had done.
Inside the kitchen, the language
is intentional.
“In our kitchen, we use different
language intentionally,” Radtke
explained. “Everyone is called chef. It
is not casual. It is a way of reinforcing
identity based on skill, contribution,
The next day, Dave found Radtke and
and potential. It changes how someone
told him the moment had changed his
carries themselves, how they engage in
life. Radtke asked why.
work, and what they believe is possible
It was because Kevin Shinn, head chef
for their future.”
and owner of Bread & Cup and Portico,
Radtke holds a bachelor’s degree in
kept calling him chef while he ran the
mathematics and secondary education
press. Dave spent 10 years incarcerated
and an MBA in nonprofit management.
and the label “felon” followed him
These two backgrounds, structured
through every job application, every
learning and sustainable business,
housing form, and every background
show up in everything Ybor does.
check. No one had ever called him chef
The organization is both a workforce
before. That moment changed his life.
development program and a working
That story sits at the heart of Ybor,
the Lincoln-based social enterprise
founded by Radtke to support workforce
development and coaching for people
coming out of incarceration. The kitchen
is named after Ybor City, a historic
neighborhood in Tampa, Florida, and
the birthplace of the Cuban sandwich: a
layered creation built from ingredients
Cubans, Spaniards, and others brought
with them when they arrived. For
Radtke, it’s not just menu lore.
“It’s people from different
backgrounds coming together to create
something meaningful and valuable,”
Radtke said. “That story mirrors what
we’re building at Ybor.”
restaurant with its first permanent
location set to open in Lincoln in late
summer of 2026.
The need, he says, is local and critical.
“Nebraska has one of the most
Ybor’s program is
built around food safety
certification, a four-week
culinary class with SCC,
50 hours of pre-apprenticeship
at pop-ups, and a 12-month
apprenticeship with
restaurant partners.
It is also designed to make
that introduction.
“Employers worry about consistency,
workplace behavior, and the potential
liability of hiring someone with a
record,” Radtke said. “Many simply do
not have a framework for evaluating
candidates beyond that label. Ybor
bridges that gap by functioning as a
training and vetting partner. By the
time someone enters an apprenticeship,
we have seen them in multiple
environments, including the classroom,
controlled kitchen, and live service.”
Radtke is quick to say no single
program solves recidivism. Ybor is a
network that includes businesses willing
overcrowded prison systems in the
to hire, nonprofits willing to partner,
country,” said Radtke. “With multiple
and community members willing to
Nebraska Department of Correctional
meet someone new.
Services facilities located in Lincoln, and
with our nonprofit already focused on
workforce development, it became clear
this was an area where we could build
something meaningful and needed.”
The culinary industry, he has found,
“The invitation is simple. Come
have a sandwich. Talk to our staff.
Meet someone whose life
experience may be very different
from your own,” he said. “The
goal is not just to serve food, but
is more open than most people expect.
to create moments where
Restaurants are short-staffed and many
perspective shifts.”
chefs care about developing people.
What’s often missing is a way for an
Photos courtesy of Bill Radtke
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