Original El Nopal Bakery Memories

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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.

On the news probably channel 66 did anyone see if my parents and El Nopal was mentioned maybe last Thursday? A relative ...
10/18/2026

On the news probably channel 66 did anyone see if my parents and El Nopal was mentioned maybe last Thursday? A relative sent me this screenshot her friend sent her.

I know my parents were the first to introduce Rosca de Reyes to Chicago. Possibly Pan de Mu***os too. Platanos I think my mom told me my dad created that. I'd have to ask my cousin.

Congratulations to my cousin Gus on his retirement party. He served the citizens of Chicago on the highest level. The pa...
10/11/2026

Congratulations to my cousin Gus on his retirement party. He served the citizens of Chicago on the highest level. The party was at his sister Suzie's house. Both of them grew up with me at our old house on 25th Street and Kedvale. (This picture I'm guessing is around 40 years ago.)

The cake they served was from Webers Bakery and it was delicious.

November 8 ends the Aqui en Chicago exhibit at the Chicago History Museum. I would like to again thank the museum for gi...
10/11/2026

November 8 ends the Aqui en Chicago exhibit at the Chicago History Museum.

I would like to again thank the museum for giving me the opportunity to honor my parents Francisco and Celia Bonilla and their original creation the El Nopal Bakery® Hojarasca® Cookie. They wrote my parents are Chicago Legends.

And a thank you to Jojo, Elena, Olga, Rebekah, and Donald for their enthusiastic support and for making all this possible.

They displayed a picture of me and my parents in 1961 and also a poster of us in 1995. It's an honor to be in a museum.

Visit the museum in Lincoln Park. It's not stodgy but very interesting facts about Chicago. And nothing is sugar coated except for the Hojarascas® the museum cafe bakes there exclusively following my father's original recipe used at the original El Nopal Bakery®.

My parents with Frankie. They were his Godparents. This photo was taken at one of the Mexican Independence Day parades m...
10/08/2026

My parents with Frankie. They were his Godparents. This photo was taken at one of the Mexican Independence Day parades my guess around late 1990s. After the parade Frankie's mom was an excellent cook and would send us delicious tamales and also at Christmastime.

When the parade concluded, there were traffic jams so we would stay in the bakery and enjoy tamales and soda.

My parents took me to a Mexican movie Villa theater that was on Loomis and 18th mid 1960s. It was a Cantinflas movie whe...
10/03/2026

My parents took me to a Mexican movie Villa theater that was on Loomis and 18th mid 1960s. It was a Cantinflas movie where he's very Noble, badly hurt but hides it to the woman he loves and tells her to go to her boyfriend. I remember another movie with Pedro Infante where he's laughing and crying.

Do you have a favorite Mexican actor or actress? I once met Mexican-American actress Lynda Carter and she is a genuinely kind person.

When my parents had their first El Nopal on Halsted Street, the Villa theater was a few stores down. Mexican actors attending premieres would visit El Nopal for pan.

In the pictures the Villa theater with the dark lettering is the one on Halsted Street and the other Villa theater is the one in Pilsen.

Pilsen Memories Pilsen Community

In 1965 I remember walking with my parents to Nerad's Jewelers that was two stores away from El Nopal and they bought me...
10/02/2026

In 1965 I remember walking with my parents to Nerad's Jewelers that was two stores away from El Nopal and they bought me an Ingersoll Mickey Mouse watch that had a ceramic figurine.

Years later I gave away, well my mom gave away, the watch to a cousin. I still have the figurine.

Watch picture from the internet. Nerad picture from the Chicago History Museum research center.

09/30/2026

In 1973 when my parents were looking for a new Bakery location on 26th Street, they went to a real estate agent. I was still in grade school. The three of us were in the office of the real estate agent. The agent had a laundromat that could be turned into a bakery. But there was another bakery already on that block. The agent said gleefully to my parents that they could put the other bakery out of business.

I looked at my parents faces and both were so distressed at hearing that. They did not want to put anyone out of business. They avoided that block.

09/28/2026

Over 10 years ago when my father and I with the night janitors worked around midnight, sometimes my dad would order Pizza Nova and soda for all of us.

Pizza Nova Pizza is so good.

I always thought the baker in the mural looked like my father. I circled it. Someone told me they based it on people in ...
09/22/2026

I always thought the baker in the mural looked like my father. I circled it. Someone told me they based it on people in the neighborhood.

Now I've seen only the bakers face has been repainted to someone else. Does anyone know why?

Pilsen Community Pilsen Memories

09/20/2026

My condolences about cousin Alicia passing. I remember her as always smiling and cheerful. God bless her, her husband Fred, her daughter Maria, and her brothers and sisters.

The Chicago History Museum Cafe chef baked exclusively authorized El Nopal Bakery® Hojarasca® Cookies today. Based on my...
09/16/2026

The Chicago History Museum Cafe chef baked exclusively authorized El Nopal Bakery® Hojarasca® Cookies today. Based on my father's original recipe used at the original bakery and only at the museum North and Clark Cafe. The museum staff are wonderful, honest, and ethical people. I love that the museum cafe kitchen is high standards. The Hojarascas® the cafe bakes are exactly the way we remember them.

My Mom Celia told me on parade day when she was in the bakery a boy 8-10 years old asked her for a job. He told her he c...
09/07/2026

My Mom Celia told me on parade day when she was in the bakery a boy 8-10 years old asked her for a job. He told her he could sweep and clean. My Mom said we didn't have any work but would you like a piece of bread she asked? He lived with his abuelita (grandmother) and brothers. He said "somos pobrecitos. No tenemos comida." ("We are poor ones. We have no food.") He said he would share the bread with his brothers. My Mom then gave him six pieces of bread and $5 for milk.

She then saw his abuelita outside who seemed to have poor eyesight the way she leaned on the door. The boy left, thanked my mom, and said proudly to her "Un dia se lo pago." ("One day I will return to pay for this.") My Mom had tears in her eyes as she went to the back of the bakery.

Address

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

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