Beloved Elk Grove bakery opens new digs just in time for Paczki Day rush
For nearly three weeks, Jarosch Bakery was out of commission during a long-planned move from its original Elk Grove Village strip mall location to shiny new digs just a few feet away.
The beloved 67-year-old suburban institution moved into its new home at 111 E. Higgins Road just in time for one of the biggest days of the year on a baker’s calendar: Paczki Day.
The pent up demand was evident Tuesday morning with a crowded parking lot and long lines for the pre-Lenten deep-fried and sugar-filled Polish delights.
The biggest rush was before 9 a.m. as customers picked up their doughnutlike paczki by the dozen to bring to the office and home. They could choose from some 30 varieties: traditional flavors like raspberry and apricot, or specialties like cherry pie, tiramisu and Nutella.
A camera crew from CBS 2 was broadcasting live all early morning long, and Jarosch dropped off a couple boxes of the sweet treats at the ABC 7 news set. (They had to say no to two other TV stations because of how busy things have been.)
“The response has been unbelievable,” said owner Chris Kowal, who merged his predominantly Eastern European-style wholesale bread baking operation with Ken and Kathy Jarosch’s bakery last year.
It’s a business marriage that’s yielded more options on the counters and racks of the 2,500-square-foot retail store: Jarosch’s cut-in-half, sandwich-style paczki (“regular” retails for $3.10, while “specialty” types go for $4.10), and the more traditional Polish variety made by the Kowal family’s Ideal Bakery (a four-pack goes for $7.99).
Amid the impending teardown of the old shopping center on the southeast corner of Arlington Heights and Higgins roads, Jarosch’s bakers, cake decorators and pastry chefs have relocated to Ideal’s 31,000-square-foot factory less than 10 minutes away in Elk Grove Village’s business park.
Once they get settled in the new retail shop, Kowal plans to turn on an oven to make cookies, muffins, cupcakes and dinner rolls on site — easing concern from longtime customers longing for the smell of fresh baked goods.
“It’s the same recipes. It’s the same people doing it,” said Kowal, noting Ken Jarosch has been involved in the process. “It’s just a little bit different equipment and it’s a different facility. But other than that, everything is the same.”