Once Upon A Bakery Bringing Whimsy To Wicker Park

Wicker Park is about to get a fanciful new bakery in the form of Once Upon A Bakery.

Hoping to open before the end of the month, the bakery will feature a big tree inside with book pages representing the leaves and upside down tea cups for lights. There will also be a tufted wall with pocket watches in the tufts and pictures of Alice In Wonderland all over.

Owner Christine LaSorda, who left a career in advertising in Michigan for culinary school, says that the goal is to impart the whimsical feeling of the décor into the flavors of food. "One of our cupcake flavors is a honey cake with a blueberry compote filling and a basil buttercream," she says.

Pricing for bakery items will be "true to the area," LaSorda says. And while specialty cakes will be an important part of the business, the main focus is on the everyday customer. Muffins should cost between $4-5, cupcakes $4, specialty cupcakes $4.50 and cookies will be between $1-2.

The 2,500 square foot space will have room for about 45 customers, including some booths and a few tables. Additional seating will be available on the bakery's patio in the summer.

Once Upon A Bakery is in a building co-owned by Bill Rancic, winner of the first season of NBC's The Apprentice and co-star, along with his wife Giuliana, of E!'s Giuliana and Bill. LaSorda says that the bakery has been part of filming for the couple's show ("Bill will come in and talk to us and check on the building," she says) but she does not know what will make the cut.

LaSorda says that the bakery should end up having a dessert item featured at the celebrity couple's restaurant, RPM Italian, "at some point."

"I'm excited to get started. I'm excited for people to see the concept. We want to make people happy with food. I think we have a really good chance of giving people a really good experience," LaSorda states.
· Once Upon a Bakery [Official Site]
[Photo Credit: Once Upon A Bakery]