Sisters at suburban Chicago bakery connect community through love of pastries
CHICAGO (CBS) – For this week's Foodie Friday, we're introducing you to two sisters, both raising their families and running a bakery in west suburban Oak Park.
CBS 2's Jamaica Ponder takes you to Broken Tart - a relatively new spot with some of the most beautiful pastries. Owned by two sisters and is run by a near cult following in the community. The two have decked the halls and their pastry cases to create a winter wonderland of sugar and holiday cheer.
From the moment they open up shop, Broken Tart's got cakes, tarts, biscuits, and cookies flying off the shelves.
"I feel like as soon as we opened the doors like we already outgrew the space, so the demand was crazy, it's just crazy, like from day one," said Katie Mack, owner.
Katie and Krissy Mack are the sisters behind Broken Tart.
"She went to pastry school. I did not. I come from like marketing world. So we kind of like we're kind of yin and yang, kind of took our skills and mashed them together," Katie said.
The two have been selling cakes for nearly a decade and for most of that time ...
Katie: We were doing this as a side hustle.
Krissy: It sounds shocking, actually, yeah. Yeah, but it's that was the start of it.
The Mack sisters are originally from the Chicago suburbs but had been moving around for some time before making a return.
"It wasn't until I came back to Chicago and ultimately, like Oak Park, that we kind of were like, this is what this community needs," Krissy said.
They'd begun growing their families in Oak Park and felt that something was missing.
"Moving from the city to kind of the burbs, you shouldn't have to be deprived of these special experiences you shouldn't have to stop getting all the delightful things that you had," Katie said. "So we wanted to just kind of replicate some of that magic and kind of world-class experience you might get elsewhere. like right here, like we're worthy of the same."
So one day, they just opened up shop.
"We didn't announce that. We just were open one day. I was just like, we'll just wait here," Krissy said.
Almost immediately, word started to spread, and the community began pouring in.
"I think the community was really looking for something fresh and knew what we're offering and kind of prepared," Katie said.
The pastry case is on a constant rotation of freshly baked cakes, cookies, loaves, and beautiful pastry.
"We kind of are riffing on, like, the old school bakery, where you have the classic options like coffee cake and things like that," Krissy said.
But she also likes to mix it up in the back with unique flavors like their kale salad scone or savory biscuit. They've got vintage tableware for you to enjoy while you're there and olive oil cakes to take when you go.
"As much as like we're focused on the food like you said, we were very focused on creating an environment that feels really warm," Krissy said.
"I think we've just done a nice job of creating a space that the local community feels like they almost have like a sense of ownership," Katie said.
Krissy and Katie say that the community feels so strongly connected to the bakery that they have a hard time changing anything on the menu.
