November 23, 2024
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Berwyn’s iconic Vesecky’s Bakery to close by end of year

Patrons saddened by loss of long-time establishment

By Bob Rakow

Berwyn’s iconic Vesecky’s Bakery plans to close by the end of year after serving the community for more than a century. News of the closing saddened many patrons, who recall visiting the bakery since they were children. (Sandy Bressner)

“Yes, the rumors are true,” says a Vesecky’s Bakery Facebook post.

And the rumors aren’t good news for the many people who have patronized Vesecky’s over the years.

The Berwyn bakery is closing after a century in business.

“We have decided to say goodbye to a significant chapter in our lives and retire. We will be closing sometime at the end of the year,” according to the bakery’s Facebook post. “The day has not been determined yet, but we will let you know as soon as possible.

“Business will be as usual until then with a few tweaks. We appreciate your concern and value all that you have done to make Vesecky’s a success for over 100 years. We would love to hear your fond memories, traditions and stories about your experiences at Vesecky’s.”

Indeed, there was no shortage of fond memories of Vesecky’s, 6634 Cermak Road, found on social media.

Patrons recalled how the bakery has been a part of their lives since childhood. Recollections of coffee cakes, pinwheel cookies, colored Easter bread, houska and kolaczkis could be found again and again in the posts. Others asked the bakery’s owners to publish a cookbook that featured the recipes for all of its beloved baked goods.

The fourth-generation bakery, opened in 1904 by an immigrant from then-Czechoslovakia, is the last remaining vestige of a time when rows of old-world Bohemian bakeries could be found up and down Cermak Road in Berwyn and Cicero. Vesecky’s survived the 1918 Spanish Flu, a changing community and survived the COVID-19 pandemic.

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