Berwyn’s Vesecky’s Bakery serves ‘bittersweet’ goodbye after a century in business

Vesecky’s Bakery is serving a bittersweet goodbye to Berwyn after more than 100 years of making memories for its many customers and their families, the same way those customers helped the owners of the iconic business make their own memories.

Vesecky’s opened in 1905 at its original location in Chicago, but moved to Berwyn in the 1960s when Dave Vesecky’s grandfather decided to relocate. Dave and his wife, Nancy, have been running the bakery since the mid-1990s, when they took over the family business along with Dave’s brother and sister-in-law. After Dave’s sister-in-law passed away, only Dave and Nancy remained to run the legacy business. A final closing date has not yet been set.

“It’s bittersweet because our customers are like our friends and family,” Nancy Vesecky said. “We really took a lot of pride in trying to always make a good product for people, but it’s just time. Berwyn has been wonderful to us and people have come from all over and we really appreciate that so much.”

Nancy said many people have asked why her children won’t continue the business. Running a bakery is incredibly hard work, she said, and she and her husband worked hard so their children could pursue their own careers.

Dave and Nancy have two children, a daughter who is a scientist and a son who is a banker. They also have two grandchildren whom they hope to spend more time with during retirement.

News of the bakery’s closing garnered significant attention on social media, with many customers expressing their sadness, but also sharing their understanding and gratitude toward the Vesecky family. Many said they will miss the bakery’s houska, kolackys and hot dogs baked in a bun as they shared their memories of visiting the bakery throughout their lives.

“My grandparents lived in Berwyn and we lived on houska,” Facebook user Pam Zahara Swearingen posted. “That has always been our family tradition. I am now 50 years old. My grandparents have been gone for years. My brother and I still send houskas to my mom for Christmas in Colorado. So sad to see you go but thank you for creating memories for my family.”

Many on Facebook left comments asking the Vesecky’s for a cooking class or recipe book so they would not have to lose the delicious memories of the bakery forever. While Nancy said a cookbook is certainly not out of the question, she said it would take quite some time to convert the bakery’s massive recipes down to everyday proportions for people at home.

The original announcement of the bakery’s closing was shared on Facebook on Oct. 10 and has since received more than 750 comments and been shared some 500 times. Nancy said seeing the outpouring of sadness made the decision difficult, but the messages also have shown her and her husband just how many lives they touched.

“It’s just been so touching and we’re so amazed at how much support we’ve seen,” Nancy said. “To know we produced so much happiness is incredible. We’re just so happy and thankful for all the years we were able to keep this tradition alive and make people happy. "