This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Kids & Family

Hop Aboard the Naper Settlement Bus and Bakery Tour

Enjoy learning about history of area bakeries and indulge your sweet tooth.

Whet your appetite and get ready for a sweet ride.

Naper Settlement’s new Bus & Bakery Tour will take guests on a trip to four of Chicagoland’s historic bakeries including Labriola Baking Company, Weber’s Bakery, Lutz Café & Pastry Shop and Roeser’s Bakery. The tour leaves at 9 a.m. Sept. 20 from the Naper Settlement Visitor Center at 523 S. Webster St., and returns at 4 p.m.

 Labriola Baking Company, one of the last artisan bakeries in the area, is the first stop on the trip. Bakery officials have arranged a behind-the-scenes tour especially for Naper Settlement. Tourist will learn how Rich Labriola combined his Italian heritage and studying with the masters of the French, Italian and German methods of bread making, to create his own style. The 75-minute tour will include a first-hand look at bread production, including dough fermentation, hand rolling, the ovens from Europe and the packing department. Participants will take home a bag of assorted breads to enjoy.

Find out what's happening in Napervillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The next stop is the South Side’s iconic Weber’s Bakery, one of the oldest family-owned bakeries in Chicago. Tourists will sample signature items, including the bakeries distinctive chocolate cake donuts. Founder Erich H. Weber emigrated from Germany to Chicago in 1924. Today, Michael Weber, the third generation in his family-owned business, respects the values established by his father and grandfather and is committed to the Chicago tradition of his family’s bakery.

After Weber’s Bakery, it’s off to the luscious Lutz Café & Pastry Shop. In 1948, Fred C. Lutz founded Lutz Pastry Shop, Chicago’s first konditorei, or pasty shop, in its present location on Montrose Avenue. Lutz offers an amazing selection of cakes, tarts, tortes, cookies and chocolates all created using traditional European recipes that have been in the Lutz family for generations. The group will enjoy a lunch of bacon or spinach quiche and salad in the quaint café, followed by shopping for pastries to enjoy on site or to take home.

Find out what's happening in Napervillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The final stop on the tour is Roeser’s Bakery, the oldest family-owned bakery in the Chicagoland area, located on North Avenue. Today, Roeser’s Bakery is still in the hands of the Roeser family, with John Roeser and his wife, Deb, guiding the bakery as they celebrate their 100th anniversary.

After a day of visiting some of the sweetest Chicagoland bakeries and learning their history, the bus will return to Naper Settlement, where happy participants can bring home a bag full of goodies.

Tickets are $60 per person and reservations are being accepted through Sept. 14. Call (630) 420-6010 or purchase tickets online at www.napersettlement.museum.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?