Artemio's Bakery — Restaurant in Lake View Township

front staff extremely mean, didn't bother trying to hide her disdain I was babysitting for the weekend and brought two kids ("Child 1" and "Child 2") with me to pick up treats. They were excited and wanted to see all the goods, so I had them look around before choosing. There were lots of options, so they made a few laps to see what they wanted. During this time, the staff at the front was eyeing us with annoyance. She'd stop mid-stride (walking from the back to the register, from the back to the cases to put in fresh items, etc.) and stare at the kids and me for a second or two before continuing along her path. Now, I can understand the worry since you never know if kids are conscious of public safety in food establishments, and it's absolutely good practice to be cautious, especially when you work with food that is intermittently exposed (when the doors to the case are opened). But my kids know not to throw open the display doors and to be aware of the space they occupy, so they were making sure to respect others who came in as well as the environment itself. I also had my eye on them in case they got excited and didn't realize that other customers wanted to access the case they were in front of. This is all to say that the staff member could've stopped giving us the stink eye after the first three minutes of seeing that the kids weren't going to fling open all of the cases of bread and breathe onto them. When it came time to select the baked goods, I let the kids grab their own tray and tongs, and at this moment, she left the register immediately and rushed over to us. She looked like she wanted to say something but then just sighed loudly, shook her head, and snatched the tongs out of Child 1's hand. Then she made a noise and flicked her head towards the breads to indicate that we should tell her what we wanted. I was so shocked by the suddenness of her sudden march towards us and the way she snatched the tongs from Child 1 that I kind of silently pointed at the bread he'd wanted. (I regret not confronting her at this point because he didn't deserve this, but I myself didn't even finish processing this whole thing until we walked back to the car.) She moved towards the shelf it was on, and I kind of ushered the kids and myself out of her way as she quickly flung open the case door, grabbed the item, and placed it on his tray. She then turned to stare at me, and I gestured at the second thing that Child 1 wanted and said, "And that one." She grabbed it, put it on his tray, quickly closed the case, side-glanced at me, and then took the tongs with her as she hurried to the register. I think she assumed that we were done because she tossed the tongs to the side of the counter, stood behind the register, and looked expectantly at me. But I hadn't even finished with the baked goods that Child 1 wanted, much less anything that Child 2 was hoping to get. So I kind of averted my gaze at that point because I didn't want any further interactions with her until checkout and turned to the kids. I told them that it might be better for me to grab the baked goods for them so that they could hold their trays really tight since they now could use both hands and their chest to brace it (instead of only one hand and their chest). When I finished quickly gathering our items, I went to the register and made sure to keep my body between her and the kids because I didn't want them in her line of sight in case she was going to say or do anything. The purchase at this point was fast. She never made eye contact with me and just quickly grabbed the goods from the trays and tossed them into paper bags. She didn't crush them completely, but she didn't attempt to be gentle, either. She also huffed loudly a bunch of times (I'm not sure if it was out of her nose or through her mouth, but it was always audible) as she rang me up, and then she also cleared the crumbs off the trays by banging against them loudly above the nearby trash can.

I get the need for caution and safety, but her treatment of us was uncalled for. I don't...

First of all, I want to make clear that I am not a foodie, yuppie; gentrifier, YouTuber...etc. I am not of brittle personality nor am I ultra sensitive. With that out of the way, I am a 35 yr old, Mexican-American man and have been coming to this bakery since I was 4 yrs old. It used to be across the street before the new building went up which now has Ace Hardware(also a great location been there forever, but will save that for another time) and the Jersey Mike’s. The bread has always had the same consistent, delicious flavor that I remember as a child. I now have three boys myself and they also share the same fondness for the bread as I do. For those of you complaining about the customer service, from the lady at the counter, are either a.) oblivious to “common” sense or b.) extremely sensitive and lacking self awareness. A few DO’s and DON’Ts:

Do your research and come later in the day if you want to browse prices and ask questions. Do have curtesy to other patrons and the staff, especially during the morning rush. Do have payment(s) ready, yes plural. sometimes the Apple Pay service is unavailable so have an alternate method ready.

Don’t begin to ask questions or try to chat during rush hour, as there is one attendant and they have to attend EVERYONE. Don’t leave your child or children unattended, remember this is someone’s business and those “cute” antics your child does when opening and leaving open the cabinets…. may actually be frowned upon. Don’t cut line, it does not matter if you came in for one piece of bread and coffee and the person in front has a full tray. Now, if the person in front allows you to, then by all means take advantage. Don’t “hang” out by the coffee as you slowly stir in your additives, remember there are more customers than just you.

These are just a few examples of what to do and what not to do. We all have a job to do and get to. The woman at the counter is a person like the rest of us. Please, please practice self awareness, be polite and have respect. Know the time and place and treat others how you would like to be treated. Artemio’s bakery is a Mexican treasure and I will continue to support this business and I know my sons while continue to do so after me! Thank you, and please enjoy their tres leches cake, absolutely the...

This bakery recently moved from across the street and the new space is brighter and cleaner. Unfortunately, the customer service here is horrible, particularly if you don't speak Spanish. Items are not labeled, and if you want to know what an item is you are out of luck. I tried to ask the only employee in the store, but first she ignored me and stayed in the kitchen area in back of the store. Then when she did come out, she only gave unhelpful answers. I asked and pointed to an item and she only said "It's plain" and asked about the item next to it (which really looked quite different), she just said the same thing. If you're going to have a store staffed with someone who has limited English skills, (and actually for everyone) post a card by each item with a description of the item. It would only cost a few cents, and I would have bought more if I knew what things were. The employee went back to the kitchen. I thought maybe she doesn't deal with customers much. But a few minutes later, someone else came in, said something in Spanish, and she came out animated, helped him, talked for a few minutes, and when he left, she went right back to the kitchen. When I was ready to pay, I had to get her attention and she acted like it was a big effort. I was really insulted. This is Wrigleyville, and English is the dominant language. It would be understandable if this was in an Hispanic neighborhood. But it felt like the store didn't want my business. The cookies were good, not great. I bought 2 rolls, but when I went to have one the next morning, they were both hard, and totally dried out. It's all too bad. It's nice to have a bakery in the neighborhood, esp. one with unique items, but I don't think...