Our Story
Sixty years and counting.
The Founding
For 63 years, Iversen's Bakery was a staple in Blue Island's Uptown Business District. The freshness of their wide variety of donuts, coffee cakes, cookies and breads satisfied sweet tooths and put smiles on the faces of adults and children alike.
Butter cookies that melted in your mouth. Smiley face cookies that made every child happy. Double chocolate Mondays could not be missed. And the number of atomic cakes that families enjoyed as part of their celebrations through the decades easily stretched into the thousands.
Thanks for all that goes to Al and Herta Iversen, who opened the doors to Iversen's Bakery in May of 1959. Al Iversen had arrived in Chicago with his family from Denmark, while Herta relocated to Chicago with her family from Germany. Together, they built an iconic bakery while raising five children.
Years later, their son Chris would assume ownership and made certain to maintain the quality folks had expected — up until 2022, when Chris decided it was time to retire.
The Rescue
Without a buyer, Iversen's Bakery was going to close its beloved doors. Larry Garetto, however, wasn't about to let that happen.
He may not have had any experience in the bakery business, but he understood the restaurant business — and what Iversen's Bakery meant to Blue Island. Blue Island had recently experienced the closure of Metro South Hospital, formerly St. Francis. He could not stand to see Blue Island suffer another loss. Iversen's Bakery was an institution.
Similar to the business he started in Blue Island with his brother Peter and their father, Angelo, back in 1976: Beggars Pizza — which he has guided to an aggressive expansion now boasting 26 locations in Illinois and Indiana.
Mr. Garetto and family, along with the Cantelo family, made sure the sale of Iversen's Bakery included all of the recipes to the donuts, cakes, and cookies.
The Renovation
However, the one thing Mr. Garetto wanted to change was what people saw when they walked through the bakery's front doors. It was a renovation that took nearly three years.
During that time, Iversen's occupied a pop-up space in the front of The Lyric Theater, which sits directly to the south of Iversen's storefront. Mr. Garetto, along with the Cantelo family, purchased The Lyric Theater in 2019 and have transformed it into a state-of-the-art multi-purpose entertainment venue.
The new Iversen's, with the building's original tin ceiling as a border and exposed brick walls, provides seating inside — and outside in a cozy courtyard.
What's New
Seating isn't the only change. Iversen's will offer soft serve ice cream, gourmet popcorn, bagels, and coffee. From lattes to cappuccinos to matchas, coffee lovers will have their choice — both hot and cold — to satisfy their needs.
And while the aesthetics are stunning and modern with vintage charm, what remains the same is the quality and taste of the desserts that made Iversen's Bakery the talk of the town for more than 60 years.
The Garetto and Cantelo family are confident this new chapter in the storied bakery's history will provide even more lifelong memories. Welcome.
Interested in joining the Iversen's team?