Customers feast on Fat Tuesday at a La Grange bakery
By Jane Michaels jmichaels@pioneerlocal.com February 21, 2012 4:56PM
Owners Sixto Rincon and his daughter, Aracely Pinal, talk over inventory and the demand for paczki on Feb. 21 at Aracely's Bakery in La Grange. | Jane Michaels~Sun-Times Media
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Updated: April 23, 2012 1:50AM
In one last sweet surrender to temptation, customers lined up at a La Grange bakery on Fat Tuesday for their fill of paczki, a traditional treat before the six-week Lenten season of self-denial.
“We’re just trying to keep up and make them as fast as we can,” said Junior Pinal, one of four owners of the new Aracely’s Bakery at 15 W. Harris Ave. “I have no idea how many we’ll sell today.”
Pinal and his wife, Aracely, arrived at 5 a.m. Tuesday to prepare for the opening an hour later launching the all-day event. Bakers had been busy since 3 a.m. preparing a yeast dough similar to a Bismarck with a variety of fillings for $2.19 each.
“The fresh strawberry is the bomb,” said Pinal’s father-in-law, Sixto Rincon, as he brought a fresh tray of paczki to a holding rack.
With his wife, Maria, Rincon has perfected their recipe at four other bakeries, named for their daughter, in Melrose Park, Franklin Park, Cicero and Villa Park.
Other choices included raspberry, apple, peach, pineapple, apricot, cream-filled and chocolate frosted.
“It’s nuts, really hectic today,” Junior Pinal said while boxing two dozen paczki for one customer.
After selecting a couple of cream-filled packzis, Debbie Palton of Westchester said she looks forward to the treat before Lent each year.
“It’s definitely a tradition for me. I always go for them on Fat Tuesday,” Palton said. “They are so good, and I can’t wait to try them here.”
Junior Pinal said timing has been good for the new bakery with lots of business from Valentine’s Day and now Fat Tuesday. The business began serving customers Feb. 4 and celebrated with a Mariachi band for a grand opening Feb. 11.
“We always drove by La Grange and thought of coming into the neighborhood,” he said. “We did some research and found just the right place.”
Customer response has been “phenomenal,” Junior Pinal said.
“We had something on Groupon, and it sold out in two or three hours,” he said. “And now by word of mouth, more and more people are coming in for the tamales. We won first place in a Chicago competition.”
In addition to cakes, cookies, pastries and a variety of Mexican baked goods, the bakery sells sandwiches, tamales, wraps, paninis and several specialty coffees.
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