Community Rallies Around Lopez Bakery

Lopez Bakery & Restaurant, 1100 W. Historic Mitchell St., has been a staple of the South Side for nearly 50 years. Known for its tamales, Mexican sweet breads and welcoming atmosphere, the business is a beloved pillar of the Historic Mitchell Street neighborhood.

Second-generation owners Jorge and Cindy Lopez love their work, employees and the community, but only recently realized the profound impact of their business.

“I just can’t believe how much the bakery affected so many people’s lives,” Cindy Lopez said. “I have no words for that.”

At the start of the new year, the Lopez family experienced a series of hardships that led them to make a difficult decision to temporarily close the bakery.

“The year just started off crazy,” Cindy Lopez said. “Little things were happening that we were able to take care of. And then all of a sudden, bigger things started to happen.”

First, the basement flooded, forcing the bakery to close for a day. The next week, the oven went out. After the costly repairs from the flood, the Lopez’s didn’t have the funds to fix the oven. Instead, they planned to continue operating the restaurant, sans oven, until they could save more money.

But then, the couple’s nephew, who had been battling cancer, passed away. In the midst of grieving the loss, Jorge Lopez had to get surgery for a health issue and was unable to work during his recovery.

To top it off, the bakery had an issue with one of its three-phase lines, which resulted in a loss of power to the oven, mixer and freezer.

Cindy Lopez said she was at a loss, wondering and fearing if anything else could possibly go wrong. “I’m laughing about it because I’m done crying,” she said.

But amid a season of lows, the couple said the community’s support has meant everything.

Fellow Business Owner Lends a Hand

Steve Ozbolt, owner of Emerald City Catering & Events, saw social media posts from Lopez Bakery and wondered how he could help.

After checking with Cindy and Jorge, Ozbolt decided to host a pay-as-you-may brunch service to raise funds for the Mexican bakery.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the brunches were often offered. Once each month, the restaurant hosted a Sunday brunch and allowed customers to pay what they could afford, whether it was $1 or $100, said Ozbolt, who explained that he’s been trying for a while to bring the brunches back.

“I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to try to do this again,” he said. “So I did a quick little Instagram video and within 48 hours, it just blew up.”

The event will likely be much bigger than Ozbolt initially imagined, as the community is stepping up to help, donating stock and ingredients, desserts and even their talent — Ozbolt said he has assembled an all-star team of chefs from local restaurants to work the brunch.

The pay-as-you-may brunch is set for Sunday, Feb. 19 from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. at Emerald City, 3555 S. 13th St.

Guests can expect standard breakfast items including scrambled eggs, omelettes, bacon, sausage and waffles, as well as polish sausage, fried chicken and dishes that incorporate donated items and ingredients — including an entire pig — from businesses including Jen’s Sweet Treats in Cudahy, MOR Bakery & Cafe, Pritzlaff Meats, Oak Creek Diner, Gordon Food Service and Performance Foodservice.

Reservations are not required, but an RSVP to the Facebook event goes a long way in helping Ozbolt and his staff prepare for the day.

Ozbolt says he hopes to continue hosting the pay-as-you-may brunches every three to six months, supporting a different group or cause each time.

“I think people really want to help,” he said. “But they just don’t know how…and then they talk themselves out of it. All I did was give everyone a direction to pull towards. If you’re showing up to eat, great. If you’re a food vendor and you say, ‘hey, I’ve got a case of bacon for you,’ fantastic.”

Ozbolt expects the brunch to be busy, but said if it turns out he’s overprepared, the extra food will be donated to a local food bank.

Lopez Bakery will receive all proceeds from the brunch, but there are also options for donating directly. A GoFundMe page has been set up on behalf of the business, which has raised just over $6,000 as of Tuesday afternoon.

There will be a card box for cash and check donations at Sunday’s brunch.

50 Years of History

Though Jorge and Cindy Lopez are second-generation owners of the Milwaukee bakery, the family business goes back much further, explained Jorge Lopez, whose family operated bakeries for three generations in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, before his parents came to Milwaukee in 1966.

The bakery first opened within a Mexican grocery store, where it operated until the family saved up enough money to purchase a building, officially launching Lopez Bakery in 1973.

Though the bakery has moved several times throughout the past half-decade, its dedication to the community and authentic family recipes has remained a constant.

Today, the bakery continues to use recipes that were originally created by Jorge Lopez’s father, José Lopez.

“I grew up in the bakery,” Jorge Lopez said. “Some of my earliest memories from when I was a child, I remember being in there and my parents would be watching me. I’ve just always been around the business in some form.”

Decades later, Jorge and Cindy Lopez said they are eager to share with José, now 92 years of age, the legacy that his bakery created.

“It was just so great to see, it really was,” said Cindy Lopez about the messages of support from community members. “It made me happy. And it made me want to go back to my father-in-law and tell him, ‘look at what you’ve done. People love the bakery because of you and my mother-in-law.'”

Lopez Bakery will officially celebrate its 50th anniversary on Nov. 2, 2023, though the owners said they plan to celebrate throughout the entire year, and are asking customers to submit photos and stories about the bakery via mail for a memory wall inside the restaurant.

“We’re grateful for all the people that have reached out to help make this a little bit better,” Cindy Lopez said. “I don’t even know how to explain it. It’s just unbelievable how Lopez has affected so many people throughout the years.”