Original El Nopal Bakery Memories

Original El Nopal Bakery Memories El Nopal created by Mr and Mrs. Francisco and Celia Bonilla on Jan 1, 1954.

The Chicago History Museum North and Clark Café is the only establishment in Chicago authorized to use our El Nopal Bakery® and Hojarasca® Cookies trademarks and original recipe.

Gus' parents Antonia and Augustine. My Tia Antonia was my mom's sister.My aunt trusted me very much. She wanted her enti...
08/14/2026

Gus' parents Antonia and Augustine. My Tia Antonia was my mom's sister.

My aunt trusted me very much. She wanted her entire jewelry box to go to her daughter Gloria who lived in Texas. It was very important to her. She knew it would take time for Gloria to arrive in Chicago for her funeral and she didn't want to worry about her jewelry. She asked me to open up a safety deposit box for her so I could give her jewelry box to her daughter Gloria after her passing. It was my privilege to do so.

My parents attended a Cordi-Marian nuns banquet. They supported the nuns with financial and bread donations. Circa mid t...
08/14/2026

My parents attended a Cordi-Marian nuns banquet. They supported the nuns with financial and bread donations. Circa mid to late 1970s.

Pictured left to right:
Their nephew and bakery manager Gus Lozano, 18th Street businessman name unknown, my dad Francisco Bonilla, two nuns, and my mom Celia Bonilla.

08/12/2026

Interesting video. Reminds me of your amiga you follow. I was disappointed in your elderly amigas behavior.

Very happy to hear from my relatives Becky and Margaret that they received the Chicago History Museum Hojarasca® Cookies...
08/08/2026

Very happy to hear from my relatives Becky and Margaret that they received the Chicago History Museum Hojarasca® Cookies I mailed overnight and that they loved the cookies. Their gracious thanks was very much appreciated.

I'm very proud to be associated with our only licensee the Chicago History Museum.

When my mom was very young she read and owned the first edition of Gone with the Wind. She no longer had the book but I ...
08/06/2026

When my mom was very young she read and owned the first edition of Gone with the Wind. She no longer had the book but I wished I found her a copy of the first edition. My mom loved to read and would read books to me when I was three. I think people who don't like to read any books are missing a lot and limiting their perspective. And there's always audio books.

07/29/2026

It's been suggested to me to write a book about the bakery. To preserve the memories.

To make it more interesting, I was thinking of adding a section where when I was 11 years old, I successfully protected my two little Chicago cousins from our MEAN cousins when we were on vacation in Texas. It's something we all rather put out of our minds. As someone once told me "Let God handle it."

God takes his sweet time. Kitt said "God is always late but he's always right on time."

Others thought the book should really only concentrate on bakery memories.

Christmas pictures in July. We would have a train going in circles and families would stop and look in the window. We ha...
07/29/2026

Christmas pictures in July. We would have a train going in circles and families would stop and look in the window. We had motorized snow children decorations that my parents bought from Marshall Fields that used to be in Field window displays.

What I really remember is in those ceramic villages there was one where mechanical people would dance and it would play a recording of people laughing and enjoying their Christmas. The actors were so genuine and real the way they said Merry Christmas. When we closed for the night and I was alone waiting for my Dad to return from Pilsen and to open the door for the janitors, I would listen to that recording and it was like Christmas to me.

This was a very impressive looking pumpkin.
07/29/2026

This was a very impressive looking pumpkin.

These might be the last photos I took of my dad when he still went to the bakery. The last two decades he had stopped ba...
07/29/2026

These might be the last photos I took of my dad when he still went to the bakery. The last two decades he had stopped baking but here he is baking a harp and I remember it very delicious but I can't remember the name of the sugary ingredient. It might have been molasses. We never offered it in other pan dulce. I'm sure the name I'll remember later.

Even though the bakery looks dark, it's actually brightly lit.

Now let's get back to new Bonilla El Nopal Bakery® pictures.
07/29/2026

Now let's get back to new Bonilla El Nopal Bakery® pictures.

Address

Chicago History Museum Cafe, 1601 N Clark Street
Chicago, IL
60614

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