Michael “Ace” Allegretti, the baker behind the locally famous Italian delicacies of Allegretti’s Bakery in Norridge, will be remembered for his sweets but also his generous spirit.
Ace died last week at the age of 74. He worked until his last day at Allegretti’s Bakery, 7717 W. Lawrence Avenue, a popular destination for 64 years for Norridge residents craving chocolate donuts, chocolate pound cake and zeppole. The family plans to continue operating the bakery, honoring their father’s legacy, who started the bakery first in Chicago after returning from World War II where he served as a cook in the U.S. Army.
Ace, along with his family, worked side-by-side to make Allegretti’s Bakery an Italian neighborhood go-to for cannoli, sfogliatelle, pasticciotto, baba rum, and cakes. They pride themselves on using only the freshest ingredients to make their father’s recipes, but also providing exceptional customer service to their many loyal customers.
“Mike was the most generous person in the world,” said his sister, Linda Ahern. “He was very dedicated to the bakery and his life was there, but he enjoyed the people.”
She said more than 3,000 people shared their sympathies with the family on social media, and the Norridge Police Department contacted her and promised to provide a police escort and direct traffic to accommodate the crowds expected this week at his funeral services.
Ace, nicknamed by his father, was known for his chocolate “crack” donuts – so good they are addictive, Ahern said, and featured in the television series Chicago Fire, and also on WGN-TV’s Chicago’s Very Own – as well as dozens of other Italian favorites. She remembers baking with her brother, trying to use the recipes their father left behind. But her father, she said, left an ingredient out of every recipe in case they were stolen. They spent days trying to figure out the missing ingredient, and once they did, the bakery’s offerings of not only donuts, but cupcakes, apple slices, Italian cookies, butter cookies, coffee cakes, pound cakes, cheesecakes, breads and more grew, and will continue.
“The bakery will go on,” Ahern said. “We are all dedicated to our father’s legacy until we’re gone. We’re hoping as things go on, the next generation will take over.”
Angela Vitale, who lives just down the street from the bakery, has been a customer for more than 50 years and said she hopes Ace didn’t take his recipes with him. She remembers her old friend fondly for the years he catered to their family, employed her son, and later her granddaughter. Ace, she said, was a dear friend to her late husband, Sal, the two often meeting for espresso, lunch, and dessert. Angela and Sal, both born in Italy, were thrilled to find desserts at their neighborhood bakery that tasted just like those found in Palermo.
“He’s like an artist to me, creating pastries and cakes,” Vitale said of Ace, who crafted a detailed and exquisite cake for her daughter’s wedding. When her granddaughter worked at the bakery, she remarked to Angela how Ace was such a nice, respectful, kind person that she considered him a nonno, or grandfather, that she would make an extra plate for every holiday meal.
“He embraced my family as his, we all loved him for the person he was – very kind and very generous,” Angela said. “When my husband died last year, he sent over pastries, and pizza bread, and donuts, OMG, they’re out of this world. His generosity and thoughtfulness were unbelievable.”
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Ahern recalled how much her brother, Ace, loved children, especially since he never had any of his own, dressing up as Santa and distributing gifts at Christmas for family and friends, or as Zeppole, a clown named after his popular pastry, for birthday parties. She fondly remembers how her brother responded to her four-year-old daughter when a neighbor wouldn’t let her play on their swings.
“He left our house and came back with a swing set,” she said. “The kids in our family knew, if you wanted something, you just ask Uncle Ace, and you got it.”
Vitale recently visited the bakery to buy dozens of cannolis, and always appreciated how Ace would stick his head out of the kitchen to say hello and check in on her family.
“To us, he had a big heart, very warm, very caring, and very generous. That’s how I’ll remember him,” Vitale said. “I’m going to miss Ace, but he went to join his buddy, Sal, and they’re probably having an espresso and a cannoli right now.”
Michael “Ace” Allegretti’s wake is planned for Tuesday, Aug. 11, from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Cumberland Chapels, 8300 W. Lawrence Avenue, Norridge. A funeral mass will be held Wednesday, Aug. 12, at 10:30 a.m. at St. Eugene Catholic Church, 7958 W. Foster Ave., Chicago.
Elizabeth Owens-Schiele is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.