It’s been a slice: Patrons bid farewell to La Grange Bakers Square

LA GRANGE – Eddie Mele stood for a moment outside the front door of Bakers Square in La Grange, turned and slowly walked back to his vehicle in stunned silence.

“Holy mackerel,” Mele of Orland Park said. “I hate to see this go. It’s a great place.”

He was not alone in his surprise when a steady stream of hungry patrons arrived Feb. 25 at Bakers Square, 942 S. La Grange Road, only to learn it had been shut down.

“It’s a great location. Good for business. Every time I drove by there was somebody in here,” Mele said.

Bakers Square was first called Poppin’ Fresh Pie when the land was rezoned as commercial 44 years ago, according to the La Grange Area Historical Society.

Patrons found a letter taped to the front glass door that said the restaurant closed Feb. 23.

“What a shame to lose this,” said Mele, who drove there to buy a pie to share with co-workers at Brook Park Elementary School in La Grange Park ,where he is a maintenance man.

“I love the banana cream pie, absolutely,” Mele said. “Now I’m going back with nothing.”

The letter read: “After very careful consideration, we have made the tough but necessary decision to discontinue operations at the La Grange location.”

The decision was “driven by many business factors,” the letter read. Employees would be relocated to another location or given a severance package, the letter indicated.

One of those employees, a waiter named Tomas, will be sorely missed, said Sandy Baumruck of North Riverside.

“Tomas, he was our favorite,” Baumruck said. “He knew our order even before we walked in. It just up and closed?”

She brought her mother, Shirley Phillips, there for soup, sandwiches and pie, of course. Phillips especially liked the peach pie, while Baumruck favored French apple.

Another woman who declined to give her name grimaced when told the news. “Then I don’t get no pie,” she said. “I’ll have to move on. I’ll go to Jewel.”

Maria Herrera of Cicero said her family enjoyed Sunday dinners there.

“I like the food, the salads, everything,” Herrera said.

“Wow, wow,” Herrera said shaking her head after reading the letter.

A woman on the La Grange, IL, Facebook page said her daughter worked there and was told in a phone call the restaurant would close down.

In January, American Blue Ribbon Holdings, which owns the Bakers Square and Village Inn restaurant chains, closed Bakers Square locations in Libertyville, Lansing, Alsip, Orland Park (LaGrange Road) and Merrillville. La Grange seemed safe.

The company is seeking bankruptcy protection, according to media reports. Those closings were part of 33 locations that were shuttered in January.

Former Lyons resident Darlene Lydia wrote on Facebook that Bakers Square “had the best banana cream pie anywhere!”

Nine Bakers Square restaurants remain in the area. Nearby are Melrose Park, Orland Park (Harlem Avenue) and Woodridge. Visit www.bakerssquare.com for addresses.

Asked what will happen to the La Grange site, company spokesman Rob Hoskins replied, “I don’t have any details beyond what’s in the statement.”

Baumruck said she hopes to see “another good sit-down family restaurant” move into the building.

Charity Jones, community development director for La Grange, said the village was “aware there were issues corporately.”

“As far as what’s next, we are in contact with our contacts at Bakers Square, and we look forward to working with Bakers Square to facilitate redevelopment of the property,” Jones said. “La Grange Road is a sought-after location for businesses. We had about 50 new businesses open last year.”

She called the one-acre Bakers Square location “a rare opportunity in La Grange.”

“It has excellent access and visibility on La Grange Road, so we think it represents a great redevelopment opportunity for another restaurant or a commercial business to come in,” Jones said.

She said “anything is possible,” adding it is zoned for commercial use.

The site was zoned commercial in May 1976 for Poppin’ Fresh Pie, said Sarah Parkes, executive director of the La Grange Area Historical Society. It was rebranded as Bakers Square in 1985 when the chain was purchased by the Village Inn chain.