After 14 years of serving customers in the southwest suburbs, Doughs Guys Bakery in Palos Heights will close its doors at the end of the year.
Owner Sharon O’Neill said the bakery’s final day will be Dec. 31.
“It was a very difficult decision,” O’Neill said about closing.
O’Neill, who lives in Homer Glen, opened Doughs Guys in 2013 with her late husband, Sean O’Neill. The bakery first opened in Chicago Ridge before moving to its current location in Palos Heights in 2015.
Over the years, Doughs Guys became known for its made-from-scratch baked goods, including wedding cakes, coffee cakes, breads, cookies and other specialty items.
One of its most popular creations was its maple-glazed long john topped with real bacon. The donut was named one of WGN’s “Chicago’s Best” top 10 donuts in Chicagoland in 2017.
She said she will miss the customers who have supported the business over the years and who became an important part of her life.
“I will really miss my customers,” O’Neill said. “They have become like family. Everyone is always so kind and caring.”
O’Neill said she will also miss her employees, many of whom have worked at the bakery for years.
“Everyone here has been with me a long time,” she said. “It’s really bittersweet.”
Doughs Guys also had a second location in Crestwood, but that location closed in 2021 after four years.
The bakery’s history is closely connected to Sharon’s late husband. Sean met Sharon while delivering mail for the U.S. Postal Service to her office. He later left the Postal Service and worked as a salesman in the paper industry before the couple opened the bakery together.
Sean died in 2023 at age 62 after battling a rare form of ocular melanoma.
Sharon said the support she received from customers and the Palos Heights community following her husband’s death meant a great deal to her.
Leaving the bakery, where she and her husband built their life together, feels like reopening that loss.
“It was like going through the grieving process a second time,” she said.
The community support is one of the reasons Sharon said leaving Palos Heights will be difficult.
While she is closing the bakery, O’Neill said she is not planning to retire.
“I’m not ready to retire,” she said. “I will do something. I’m not the type of person that can sit home.”
For now, her focus is on getting through the bakery’s final months and saying goodbye to the customers and employees who have been part of her life for the past 14 years.
The bakery announced the closing on Facebook, thanking its customers, employees, friends and family for their support over the years.
“While the past 14 years have not been without its share of bitterness, we can confidently share that business at Doughs Guys Bakery has been just that sweet,” the bakery said in a Facebook post. “Our loyal customers, hardworking employees, and amazing friends and family have all made our lives infinitely sweeter.”
