The Pioneer Bakery Cafe and employee Derek Baker will appear on the Today show tomorrow

A St. Louisan will once again hit the national stage as Derek Baker, employee of The Pioneer Bakery Cafe, is lined up to be featured on Today with Hoda and Jenna at 11 a.m. tomorrow, Wednesday, March 3, as part of the show’s restaurant week. Baker has previously gained a large following as Baker Banter on TikTok and YouTube. 

The Pioneer Bakery Cafe is a mission-based cafe owned by Scott and Sheila Rinaberger (McArthur’s Bakery, StepUp) whose goal is to train and employ workers with intellectual disabilities. “The question always is: After special school services stop and education stops, what’s next? There are no opportunities out there unless you create them,” Scott Rinaberger told Sauce last August. As one would imagine, he likely did not anticipate his project and one of his star employees being featured on national television less than a year later. 

According to a press release, the Today segment will show footage of Derek and the other trainees working at the cafe and will include live interviews with Baker and Rinaberger.  

Here’s a video of Baker learning he’d been selected for the show that he posted on his TikTok, where he has 2 million followers and almost 70 million “likes.”