Your name & title at the company
Dominique Schewebach, Owner & Renaud Hendrickx, Chef & Owner
What does your company do?
We are a Belgian Artisanal bakery – coffee-shop. We bake everything from scratch on the premises using only natural ingredients – – the kitchen is visible. We propose 13 different types of croissants, artisanal breads, Belgian-French style pastries like éclairs, napoléons, javanais, tartelettes, macarons, cannelés, birthday cakes as well as cookies and home-made chocolates. We also offer sandwiches, soups, and salads.
Tell us about your company’s journey:
Tell us about your company’s journey:We are both Belgian and arrived in Chicago 10 years ago. Before that, Renaud Hendrickx had a Belgian bakery and a Belgian restaurant in Nassau Bahamas for 10 years. Two of his regular customers in Nassau who lived in Chicago kept asking him why he didn’t open a bakery in Chicago… it took them a few years to convince him but after visiting them in Chicago for the first time, we realized Chicago was indeed an amazing city. After spending some time analyzing the bread and pasty markets, we realized there was a niche for an artisanal Belgian Bakery. We then started the long process to get all the authorizations to be able to invest as a foreigner in the US. It took a bit more than one year. In May 2010 we opened our doors.
What has been your company’s greatest success?
Being able to convince Chicagoans to eat artisanal breads and pastries at a time when a lot of them were running away from carbs. By making our kitchen visible, we showed them how breads and pastries can be made with natural ingredients, using simple old techniques, the result being yummy and healthy.
Do you have special quarantine hours? Curbside pickup/delivery?
We are open Tuesday till Saturday from 8 am till 4 pm. Sunday 9 am – 2 pm. We are now closed on Monday. People can enter the bakery in limited number – even eat inside or outside (limited capacity). Curbside pick-up is also available. We deliver through Grubhub, Postmates, AND DoorDash.
What are your company’s goals for 2020?
Continue to offer the best European breads and pastries. In these challenging times, eating good, healthy food that brings you pleasure and joy is even more important.
