City Council Meeting March 29,2017
RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Swedish Bakery, a landmark in Andersonville located at 5348 N. Clark, closed its doors at the end of February after 88 years in business; and
WHEREAS, The bakery was started in the late 1920s by Ed and Frida Johnson, baking traditional Swedish pastries and breads, specifically the Swedish rye known as limpa; and
WHEREAS, A nephew of the Johnsons purchased the bakery in 1931 or 1932, sold the bakery to Ernest Carlson in 1940, the bakery was purchased by Gosta Bjuhr in 1964 or 1965, and Mr. Bjuhr sold the bakery to Marlies Stanton in July of1979; and
WHEREAS, Marlies Stanton was skilled as a pastry chef from her apprenticeship in West Germany and came to the United States in 1953, worked for Mr. Bjuhr for eight years until he decided to retire, and she officially took over ownership of .Swedish Bakery in July 1979, continuing to use the recipes by the previous owner, Gosta Bjuhr, and incorporated her own recipes as well; and
WHEREAS, Marlies began running the bakery with her son, George, who worked intently by her side, along with a crew of three bakers, one dishwasher, and eight sales staff; and
WHEREAS, Marlies husband, George, who was a retired Edgewater Beach Hotel Chief Steward, assisted in a part-time capacity until 1994; and
WHEREAS, Marlies daughter, Kathy, joined the business in January 1988 and by this time, the growing business had such high demand that they now had a staff of 19; and
WHEREAS, Expansion plans were initiated in 1989 when the Stantons purchased the adjacent property and as the project began to take shape, Marlies other son, Dennis, came on board in 1991 and oversaw the entire construction process to its completion in July 1992; and
WHEREAS, With this enlarged facility, Swedish Bakery tripled its production and retail space and more than doubled its personnel which numbered approximately 45 when the bakery closed in February of this year; and
WHEREAS, Throughout its ownership by the Stanton Family, the Swedish Bakery continued to serve as a full retail bakery in Andersonville, remaining family owned and operated as a scratch bakery committed to using whole ingredients, keeping many traditional
recipes of Sweden and other European and old fashioned American favorites, as well as new ones; and
WHEREAS, Swedish Bakery and the Stanton Family have been cornerstones In the Andersonville community and City of Chicago, and they will be greatly missed as the closing of their doors will have a large Impact on our neighborhood; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Mayor and Members of the City Council of the City of Chicago, assembled this twenty-ninth day of March, 2017, do hereby commend the Stanton Family for owning and operating a successful business in Chicago and thank them for their years of bringing fresh baked goods on a daily basis to Chicagoans on the north side and all those who traveled far to savor the many sweets and breads that Swedish Bakery offered; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be prepared for presentation to the Stanton Family.