The line stretched around the block before Pticek & Sons Bakery opened at 5 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 15, with customers eager to grab the traditional Polish pastries that make Paczki Day one of the city’s most anticipated food traditions.
Paczki Day, celebrated the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, draws crowds to bakeries across Chicago’s Polish neighborhoods. For Pticek’s Bakery, which has operated since 1943 and moved to its Garfield Ridge location in 1959, it’s one of the busiest days of the year.
“At least the weather was a little warmer this morning. They didn’t have to wait in the cold,” said Antoinette Wingo, owner of Pticek’s Bakery.
The bakery offered more than a dozen varieties of the deep-fried pastries, from traditional cheese and prune to fruit-filled options like raspberry, peach and blueberry. Custard, almond and buttercream versions rounded out the selection.
“Paczki Day is one of our biggest days,” Wingo said. “Easter, Christmas, and Thanksgiving are also very busy, but this day is right up there.”
Judith Beemsterboer, of Chicago, clutched a box of pastries, beaming as she explained her choices.
“I come here for the cheese and almond paczki,” she said. “You can’t find the almond anywhere. They are my favorite.”
Jon Spansail drove from La Grange Park specifically for the bakery’s offerings. He was a recent convert to the pastry.
“I was never really a paczki fan until I tried these,” Spansail said. “There’s so many great fillings it’s hard to choose. I’m normally not a fan of strawberries, but this one I like, so I will get some of those.”
Wingo and her crew made nearly 10,000 paczki this year — a testament to the day’s importance in Chicago’s food culture and a reminder of why the bakery has thrived for more than eight decades.
