Looking to satisfy your sweet tooth with conchas? That Mexican treat and many other baked goods, such as cupcakes, doughnuts with sprinkles, cannolis, bread pudding or cakes, can be found at Aracely’s Bakery in La Grange.
“We’re known for our conchas. It’s a vanilla sweet bread. It’s a Mexican tradition,” said Junior Pinal who operates the La Grange bakery with his wife, Araceli. “A lot of Mexicans eat it in the morning with their coffee or hot chocolate,”
Customers also line up for champurrado, a cornmeal-based drink flavored with milk and cinnamon.
“Sometimes we run out of that by 10 a.m.,” said Junor Pinal.
The bakery, which has Hispanic roots, has four other locations in the Chicago area in Cicero, Melrose Park, Villa Park and Franklin Park.
The family business was started by Araceli’s father, Sixto Rincon, and his wife, Maria. The first Aracely’s, which is a variant spelling of his daughter’s name, was at 63rd and Artesian streets in Chicago. It opened in 1984.
“My dad started it,” Araceli Pinal said. “He used to clean trays in a bakery in high school and then, after college, he just stuck with it.”
Different family members run the various locations.
“This is our store,” said Junior Pinal about the La Grange store that opened five years ago.
He and his wife, who are parents of a 2-year-old named Alex, became familiar with La Grange when they used to hang out at a local restaurant.
“When we first got married we’d go to Palmer’s and then we’d walk around,” said Araceli Pinal. “We thought it was a great area.”
The store employs six people and bakes all of its goods fresh daily on the premises. While it specializes in many Hispanic baked goods including empanadas and tres leches (three milks cake), it has evolved over the years in different directions.
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It began offering cannolis and paczkis as it adapted to the ethnic tastes of the various neighborhoods in which they have had stores over the years. It picked up on the desire for cannolis and Italian cookies in Melrose Park and on kolaches in the Back of the Yards neighborhood in Chicago.
“Some of that rubbed off on us,” Araceli Pinal said.
As he became involved in the business, Junior Pinal started making fondant cakes in elaborate forms and shapes that are ordered by customers for weddings, birthdays and other special occasions.
“I went to art school back in the day,” he said about his skill in creating forms. “We make some pretty elaborate cakes.”
Junior Pinal started working in the business after he met Araceli.
“I used to come in the store because it was a way to see her, and then I started helping out. One day, I started boxing things,” he said.
Araceli seemed destined for the business. After all, the store was named for her. After a stint working as an accountant, she decided she wanted to be in the bakery.
“I didn’t like the corporate world,” said Araceli Pinalo who has two siblings who decided not to pursue careers in the bakery business
The bakery continues to try to evolve to meet the desires of customers.
“This year we introduced our artisan breads — sour dough, multigrain, jalepeno cheddar,” said Junior Pinal.
Though they have been in business in La Grange for five years, the couple said they are always working to attract new customers.
“With bakeries, people are very loyal,” Araceli Pinal said. “Even though we’ve been in the area five years we’re still gaining their trust.”
Aracely’s has won the trust of Ernie Perez, a police officer from Stone Park, who is a devoted customer.
“I love the buttery croissants,” he said. “They are the softest, fluffiest, butteriest in the world.”
He described how often he visits the bakery as “as much as possible.”
The Pinals plan in the coming year to do more marketing and advertising of their business.
In the meantime, even though they work long days, they say there is no place they’d rather be. Besides working together, they sometimes bring their 2-year-old son to the store to spend time with him.
“It’s all about family,” said Junior Pinal. “We get to be together every day.”
They expect the business to continue to thrive. With her son sitting on her lap, Araceli Pinal, said she is confident that the business will still be thriving when he’s 18.
“It put three of us through college,” said Araceli. “It’s going to put him through, too.”
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Aracely’s Bakery
Address: 15 W. Harris Ave., La Grange
Hours: 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays; 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sundays
Phone: 708-352-1767
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Website: www.aracelysbakeryinc.com