Sept. 15--"Pun intended," said Judy Contino, "it's very bittersweet."
The acclaimed pastry chef, who was a semifinalist for the 2015 James Beard Foundation's Outstanding Baker Award (the first year of the award's existence), is stepping away from Bittersweet Pastry Shop (1114 W. Belmont Ave.), the bakery she founded 23 years ago.
Contino will hand the reins to: Mindy Gohr, who joined Bittersweet in 2005 and has held the pastry chef title since 2011; and Esther Griego, Contino's niece and a marketing and management professional. Gohr and Griego will be co-managing partners.
"(Gohr) has worked for me for 10 years, just waiting to do some of her own stuff," Contino said, "and I have a niece who is so interested in what I have done. I'm so happy to give these two young women the opportunity to take Bittersweet to another level. Bittersweet could do so much more, and they can do it better than I can."
Though Contino is stepping down, she emphasized that she's not leaving entirely.
"It's not like I'm walking away; certainly I'll still be a big part of Bittersweet for a while," she said. "I want to let people know that there's something new at Bittersweet.
"I was lucky that Bittersweet was the first of its kind, but wow, is the city saturated now," Contino said. "That's why Bittersweet needs new ideas and more energy."
Phil Vettel is a Tribune critic.
pvettel@tribune.com
Twitter @philvettel
