St. Charles Breadsmith owners have 'love and joy' for baking
Tiffany Klopp left her job as a director of Ronald McDonald House charities in Milwaukee last summer, and her husband did the same with his business consultation job.
One might say the aroma of bread simply overcame them. That, and Tiffany's growing passion for baking.
It led to the couple to becoming the new owners of Breadsmith stores in St. Charles and Skokie.
That was welcome news for St. Charles residents who were disappointed when the Breadsmith on North Second Street had recently closed.
Tiffany has her previous job to thank for a newfound passion and an appreciation for Breadsmith.
"One of my bigger focuses the last three or four years was a meal program through Ronald McDonald, and Breadsmith was actually the main donor for our lunch program," Tiffany said. "It was wonderful, and that's how I got to know them and their product."
At the same time, Tiffany had an increasing "love and joy of baking" after starting that task for the Ronald McDonald program.
"It turned into something that I really wanted to do all of the time, and that's how all of this came together," she said.
In first thinking it would be fun to open a Breadsmith in the Milwaukee area, the corporation contacted Tiffany and Jonathan to inform them of the opportunities in the Chicago area at two locations.
They jumped on that offer and have enjoyed "the pure chaos" of opening two stores in about an eight-week period, Tiffany said.
While the store in Skokie is much larger and does a lot of wholesale production, the site in St. Charles operates like "a true neighborhood bakery - and that's why I love it," Tiffany said.
It's probably safe to say area residents are pleased to welcome Breadsmith back to town, as they once again can pick up a loaf of whole wheat or apple cinnamon pecan bread, or a batch of cookies, sweet rolls or scones.
A real contender:
Marlon Brando lamented, "I coulda been a contender," in the great movie "On the Waterfront." That comment comes to mind every time a spelling bee takes place.
How is this connection possible? Spelling bees at my Catholic school were my first exposure to an event that seemed rigged.
When you are 13 years old and the nuns at your school pit the boys against the girls in a spelling bee, there's trouble brewing. I was really good, or so I thought, and was almost always one of the last boys standing - against a half dozen girls who were all good students.
Plain and simple, it seemed they got easier words as the bee entered its final rounds. They had words like "pancake" or "forest," and I got words like "molybdenum" or "cirrhosis." OK, that might be an exaggeration, but you get the idea.
In any case, this tale of woe should not discourage those 50 and older from taking a crack at the Illinois State Senior Spelling Bee for Illinois. It takes place at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 22 at the St. Charles Library.
If you are good, you might be able to advance to a regional event and maybe the finals at the State Fair on Aug. 14.
If you are interested, check with the library at (630) 584-0076, ext. 1, to see if spots are available to sign up.
Reminds me of Jim:
There are plenty of reasons to remember former St. Charles Alderman Jim Martin, who passed away a couple of weeks ago. The guy was a fixture at City Hall meetings for 44 years.
And he helped create many great things for the city, particularly on the community festival side through his role with the visitor's bureau.
But I think of Martin right away when passing by the concrete roundabout at 14th and 16th streets in St. Charles. Most folks driving along this street now would wonder why in the world such a dumb thing is stuck in the middle of that street.
Well, there was a good reason for it a few decades ago. Area residents were annoyed with the traffic flow going to the St. Charles Mall on that side of town. Martin and others felt the concrete structure would slow down traffic or cause some to want to avoid it, period. It might also keep cars from backing up on 14th during busy times. It did all of the above.
He would be the first to admit that maybe it wasn't the greatest piece of engineering for the area, but it was the first time the city ever dealt with mall traffic. That's hard to believe now, but I lived on 14th Street at that time and the traffic whistling through the neighborhoods was significant.
Martin and others got a little grief over the years about this circle of concrete, and I still scratch my head on occasion over it. But it stands as a testament to him because it was proof that this was a guy who got things done if neighbors were seeking solutions.
Martin also had the best idea that never happened. Back in the 1980s when downtown traffic was even more horrific than now because of no left-turn lanes and even narrower streets, Martin wanted safety and better traffic flow by creating an elevated and covered pedestrian overpass at Main and First streets. It would eliminate pedestrians pushing crossing buttons to switch to a green light, thus stopping traffic.
It might have been the first concept to consider that First Street might be very different in the future, and it had to somehow become easier for consumers to get around town.
Back on the list:
When rattling off the names of fine breakfast options in the Tri-Cities area last week, it was certain a few would be left off that list.
But I had one on the list, Mother's Pancake House at 3755 E. Main St. in St. Charles, but took it off at the last minute. When checking for its address online, the site said it was closed. I had passed by the restaurant a few days earlier and it did seem sort of dark.
The "closed" note simply meant it was not open at that specific time, so it was good to hear this place is still in business. Many times, I have heard this is an excellent breakfast spot.
And, for good measure, reader Jim Resser of St. Charles mentioned Randall's Pancake House at 305 Randall Road in South Elgin as a great spot. He mentioned the baked apple pancake as something "to die for."
When people describe food in that manner, you know it's good.
dheun@sbcglobal.net