Dinkel's Bakery on Lincoln Avenue to close after more than 100 years
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Dinkel's Bakery on Lincoln Avenue in West Lakeview will be going out of business at the end of the month.
The bakery, at 3329 N. Lincoln Ave., confirmed it will close permanently on April 30. Dinkel's has been family-owned for a century and the owner now wants to retire.
As CBS 2's Jermont Terry reported, a sign on the door reads: "To our customers and neighbors. Thank you… 101 years serving you. But it is time. Dinkel's will close Saturday, April 30."
The moment the sign went up, some longtime customers rushed to the bakery. Many just wanted to see for themselves if the news was true, while others wanted simply to savor another taste of the treats inside.
As the day and evening went on, there were a lot of sad faces. Still in shock, customers snapped pictures of that sign announcing Dinkel's would be closing. They never imagined such a sign would ever appear.
"I didn't want to believe it, but it's true," said loyal customer Katie Traines.
Joseph K. Dinkel, an immigrant from southern Bavaria, Germany, opened a small bakeshop in Chicago in 1922 with the help of his wife, Antonie, current owner Luke Karl wrote on the bakery's website. Joseph did the baking in the back, while Antonie made the sales in front.
The bakery expanded in 1932. The couple's son, Norman Dinkel Sr., came into the business around the same time, and his son, Norman Dinkel Jr., in turn took over in the early 1970s.
"My grandmother - she's the one who developed these cases," Dinkel said as he showed off the glass cases that display the enticing baked goods. "They became known as the Chicago show cases."
Norman Jr. continues to run the bakery as president and owner. His daughter, Sandgren, and her husband, Luke Karl, are also on staff.
Norman Dinkel Jr. told CBS 2's Terry that the issue is indeed that it is just time. At age 79, he is ready to stop the early-morning alarm clock and finally sleep in.
"When you're nine months old, they stick you on the doughnut line moving the doughnuts," Dinkel said. "It is part of your life, so I've been doing it a long, long time."
With the shop being extra-packed Tuesday, Dinkel said even he was taken aback by the all the attention from his decision to shut down.
"I had no idea that this was going to happen. I figured the neighborhood would, you know, take it and that would be it. I have mixed emotions. For one thing, I feel like a quitter – and the other side, you know, it's time," Dinkel said. "So I'm going to go with the positive – it's time."
Dinkel said he tried to sell the business, but it did not work out.
"This is a lot of hours; a lot of dedication. A lot of people don't see that, and that's one reason we went through four business brokers to try to sell the business," Dinkel said, "and it came back, people don't want to by a business that they have to work at. They want to buy a business where they can collect the money."
Dinkel's is one of a relatively few remaining stores dating back to the glory days of the bustling old Lincoln-Belmont-Ashland shopping district in the mid-20th century – many others of which were also founded by German immigrants. The shopping district was one of the largest outside the Loop at one time.
The bakery has been in its current location since 1946. It first opened across the street where Rexx Rugs is located today.
At its café, Dinkel's honors some of its former neighbors in the shopping district with sandwiches in their names. They include the Wieboldt's and Goldblatt's department stores that once anchored the six-way intersection, the Woolworth's at Lincoln Avenue and School Street, and some of the iconic and bygone small businesses in the area – Kotz's shoe store, Rothschild's clothing, Robert Hall clothing, and Meyer Import Delicatessen. Dinkel's also has a sandwich called Ziggy's named for Zig Lekan, the founder of Paulina Market a block north on Lincoln Avenue whose meats Dinkel's proudly serves.
"What other business is around for 100 years, or 50 years even – so they've earned it," Traines said.
Meanwhile, here's a breakdown of how much dough comes out of Dinkel's – 600 pounds of dough every day, with 400 pounds set aside for cookies and 200 pounds just for doughnuts.
Indeed it is a lot of hard work to make folks happy for all those years.
On its website, Dinkel's says it is taking orders for lamb and egg cakes for Easter, which will be available to pick up April 9-16. And again, you still have until Saturday, April 30 to pay a visit.