Bridgeport Bakery closing after nearly five decades

The exterior of Bridgeport Bakery at 2907 S. Archer Ave., Friday morning, Oct. 11, 2019. The bakery is closing at the end of the October after nearly 50 years of operation. | Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times

Stacks of blackened bread tins and cupcake trays sat on metal racks a few feet from an oven the size of a small truck.

A faint odor of gas hung in the air, even though the side door to the oven had been left open to help with venting. Inside, a cog glistening with grease slowly rotated — helping turn the oven’s giant baking shelves.

Much of the equipment inside Bridgeport Bakery looks like it might have been built during the Industrial Revolution. It’s not quite that old, but the bakery’s owner — Ron Pavelka — says it’s nevertheless time to close up shop. Pavelka recently had quadruple bypass surgery and has been told to take it easy. So after 47 years in business, the tangerine neon sign in the bakery’s front window will be turned off for good at the end of the month.

“It’s not fancy, it’s very Bridgeport,” said customer Kevin Hickey, standing in front of the bakery, which sits on a busy stretch of South Archer. “It’s an institution.”

People come for the bacon buns, the coffee cake — Hickey, who owns the nearby Duck Inn restaurant, had one tucked under his arm Friday — and the doughnut.

“Probably one of the best chocolate cake doughnuts in the world,” he said.

Others drove in the drizzle from Indiana to get the baked goods they’ve loved since they were children — knowing time is running out.

Bread is for sale at Bridgeport Bakery at 2907 S. Archer Ave., Friday morning, Oct. 11, 2019. The bakery is closing at the end of the October after nearly 50 years of operation.

Sandy Budz, the owner’s sister, apologized for the “mess” as she led a tour into the kitchen Friday. A fine layer of flour covered almost everything, including a giant wooden table known as “the bench,” on which dough is rolled out, butter cream and chocolate icing is stirred with whisks as fat around as a human head.

Budz, a band of flour dust running around the middle of her t-shirt, said she’ll miss the bakery — though not having to rise long before dawn.

“Getting up at 3 is rough,” she said, squeezing swirls of cream into eclairs.

Budz said she’ll miss her fellow workers and the customers, many of whom line up outside to buy thousands of the bakery’s celebrated paczkis every March.

“The line is out the door constantly — from the day before [Paczkis Day] ‘till that night,” she said.

Sandra Budz, 65, whose brother owns Bridgeport Bakery at 2907 S. Archer Ave., poses for a portrait in the bakery, Friday morning, Oct. 11, 2019. The bakery is closing at the end of the October after nearly 50 years of operation.