Swedish Bakery (1929-2017) & Lost Larson

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Swedish immigration to Chicago boomed. As the city transformed from a small lakeside town into a bustling Midwestern metropolis, the demand for labor drew large numbers of Swedes to the city. During the 1880s, the city’s Swedish population doubled, and by 1930, over 200,000 Swedish immigrants or first-generation Swedish-Americans called Chicago home. These Swedish immigrants often clustered together in the same neighborhoods, and Andersonville (a district within Chicago’s larger Edgewater community) emerged as one such neighborhood.

As Swedes immigrated in great numbers, so too did Swedish culture, which flourished in Andersonville. Included in this cultural migration was food, and for nearly a century the Swedish Bakery on Clark Street stood as a visible and edible legacy of Swedish immigration to Chicago. It’s unclear exactly when the Bakery opened its doors; by 1929, it was open for business and was one of several bakeries in the Andersonville area. As the name implies, it was owned and operated by a Swedish family, and it specialized it Swedish staples. These included Swedish cookies, mazariners (an almond tart), toscas (almond cakes), and limpa (a rye bread).

The Swedish Bakery changed ownership several times in the mid-20th century, remaining in Swedish hands. In 1979, it was purchased by Marlies Stanton and her family, who were not Swedish but Greek. Despite their Mediterranean heritage, they kept up the Swedish Bakery’s name and Scandinavian culinary legacy. As Andersonville grew more diverse throughout the 20th century, its Swedish roots faded somewhat. Yet the Swedish Bakery stood as a connection to the neighborhood’s Swedish legacy.

In February 2017, the Swedish Bakery closed its doors. Aging ownership and faltering sales led to its closure. The local community mourned; as local resident Janice Reisse lamented, “It’s closing and it’s just another part of my past that’s going…The street is not the same as it was 40 years ago. And there aren’t many places around that are, you know, pure Swedish.”[2]

Fortunately, within a year, the bakery reopened under new ownership and a new name. Bobby Schaffer, a pastry chef of Scandinavian heritage himself, purchased the bakery and re-christened it Lost Larson (named for his immigrant grandfather). In preparation for its opening, he spent time culinarily touring Sweden, and he has retained many of the famed Swedish dishes have learned to love.

1. Anita Olson Gustafson. "Swedes." Encyclopedia of Chicago. Web. Accessed December 3, 2020. http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/1222.html

2. Amanda Vinicky. "Closing of Swedish Bakery a Bitter Pill, But Sweet Memories Abound." February 16, 2017. PBS. WTTW. Web. Accessed December 3, 2020. https://news.wttw.com/2017/02/16/closing-swedish-bakery-bitter-pill-sweet-memories-abound

3. Louisa Chu. "Swedish Bakery in Andersonville closing after 88 years." February 3, 2017. Chicago Tribune. Web. Accessed December 3, 2020. https://www.chicagotribune.com/dining/ct-swedish-bakery-in-andersonville-closing-after-88-years-20170202-story.html

4. "Swedish Bakery." National Main Streets Conference, Andersonville Tour Handout. Web. Accessed December 3, 2020. http://www.andersonville.org/the-neighborhood/history/

5. Meghan Murphy-Gill. "In Chicago, a Reclaimed Swedish Heritage for a New Bakery." November 30, 2018. New York Times. Web. Accessed December 3, 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/30/travel/bites-chicago-andersonville-lostlarson-swedish-bakery.html