Brown Sugar Bakery — Restaurant in Hyde Park Township

MY INITIAL EXPERIENCE:

From time-to-time I stop at Brown Sugar Bakery to quench a sugar craving with a piece of caramel cake, decadent chocolate double cake, or buttercream filled carrot cake. This time I needed something more and nostalgic--pie, Sweet Potato Pie to be exact. Everyone told me to go buy a Patti LaBelle pie from Jewel so 1 did. Really people? | love Patti too but that is not grandma's pie!!!! It is what it is--a pedestrian store bought pie, nothing more. Brown Sugar Bakery to the rescue. I called and was told to place my order in advance due to the holiday rush and that I could schedule a pick-up date and time. Convenient! This pie was precisely what I wanted: a pie baked with love--a grandma's love. This is now going to be a staple in my house for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.

What an outstanding addition to the community Brown Sugar Bakery has been! Kudos to the owner and chef--a job well done!

UPDATE:

This is an OUTSTANDING bakery, with the best desserts anywhere and a wonderful owner and friendly staff, in a humble, warm and friendly establishment. You will love this location to sit down and enjoy a slice of cake in a wonderful neighborhood bakery.

I literally am, for the third year in a row, eating my Thanksgiving caramel cake and sweet potato pie. This is the best caramel cake that l've ever eaten! ewel or Walmart (or whoever is selling it now) can have the mass produced Patti LaBelle Sweet Potato Pie! If you want a delicious Sweet Potato Pie get one from Brown Sugar Bakery owner Stephanie Hart! I guarantee you'll taste the difference and authenticity of grandma's pie & cake. (The double chocolate cake is also to die for...

This was the first and last time I will support this business. I ordered two cakes for my husband's birthday from their 75th street location. One of the cakes was a Turtle cake with nuts. When I arrived, I waited in line as only 2 people were allowed in the store at a time and this I understand as things are different due to Covid-19 guidelines. Once in the store, I informed them I was picking up an order and I also purchased a cupcake and some cookies. The cakes were boxed and taped close and I was unable to inspect them. When I arrived home, I discovered the Turtle cake did not have nuts on it and called immediately. The first person I spoke with was very apologetic and stated someone forgot to give the nuts to me as they always place the nuts in a separate container. This representative asked if I wanted to pick them up and I stated no as I lived too far away. She then transferred me to her Supervisor, Sarah who asked what could she do to accommodate me and I asked for a partial credit for the nuts. I asked how long the credit was good and was told only 30 days. I explained I'm a Senior Citizen and I live a good distance away and wanted to know if the credit could be extended for at least 90 days to provide me with time to utilize it and her response was no they were not able to do so. Sarah's response was VERY disappointing. I did not make the mistake, this bakery did. It doesn't matter how good a product is if the Customer Service is POOR. My experience is definitely leaves a negative taste and I will choose to spend my money elsewhere...

We made our first trek here after visiting the cherry blossoms in Jackson Park. The staff are so friendly and eager that we knew about everything they offered. It all looked delicious. We settled on a slice of double chocolate cake, a slice of the cream cheese pound cake, a caramel donut, and an Oreo cupcake. They tossed in a slice of yellow cake as a surprise freebie.

They are very COVID sensitive. There are markings for where to stand to ensure social distance. Plexiglass screens are up to reduce transmission and masks were required (and were worn by all staff). You can pay with credit card or cash (don't forget to tip the hard working staff!)

We enjoyed chatting with Sarah (not sure of her spelling), the manager. She was incredibly nice and encouraged us to come back and to visit their outpost at Navy Pier when they are allowed to reopen there.

So far, we have only tried the double chocolate cake and the pound cake. I am a chocolate cake fan and this one was delicious -- moist, tender crumb, rich chocolate flavor, smooth frosting. It was good we only bought the one slice as I would have had a hard time showinng restraint! The pound cake also had a good crumb, and delicious frosting. It was a tad drier than the chocolate cake (perhaps because it's a different kind of cake). We look forward to trying the rest.

In any event, we will make the trek back there. They have spaces outdoors where you can immediately enjoy your purchases.

Sarah pointed out you can order a full 8" cake and have it shipped. That is dangerous...