New Lombard bakery and cafe offers European treats

Dragica Mitic always had dreams of opening her own bakery, but the time was never right.

After moving to the U.S. from Serbia, Mitic got occupied being a mom and working in grocery store bakeries for about 15 years.

On Tuesday, though, Mitic hurried about her new business, Balkan Bakery, serving customers who were walking through the door at 14 W. St. Charles Road in Lombard.

"It's a beautiful day," she said. "It couldn't be better. The people, they are very supportive, very friendly. Lombard was the perfect place to choose."

The small storefront with a red awning and small deck on the east side of the building joins a growing number of new food businesses in the downtown area, including Marquette Kitchen & Tap and Babcock's Grove House.

Mitic said she likes the challenge of making something look good and taste good. Inside her business, glass display cases are filled with a variety of bakery items that are appealing to the eye, including cupcakes, chocolate-covered strawberries, cinnamon rolls, doughnuts, cookies, muffins and pastries. In addition, there are several types of bagels, sub sandwiches and paninis available for customers wanting a small meal. Cakes and pies are also aplenty and patrons can couple all the offerings with a coffee or smoothie.

Mitic has plans to start introducing more foods from her homeland in the coming weeks, including desserts like baklava, a sweet pastry, and tulumbe, a churro-like treat made of fried dough. She is already serving borek as well, a flaky pastry stuffed with cheese or apple.

"We're going to try to please the customers," she said. "Whatever a customer suggests, we'll try to accommodate it."

For now, the business will be open from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m., but Mitic said those hours will be adjusted to coincide with demand, and shortened during the winter.