Peter Fasano has been flooded with feelings of déjà vu over the past few months.

For Fasano, who grew up in Hinsdale and now lives in Downers Grove, pies were part of his life from the time he was born until 1986. It was about 26 years ago when the Fasano and Sons Bakery his grandfather, Joseph Fasano, had started in 1946, went out of business.

Peter’s father, Joseph Fasano Jr., and known to many as Joe Pies, spent most of his adult life working with his father, helping to make the reputation of a company known for serving up some of the best pies that could be found anywhere in the Chicago area.

And in November 2011, Peter Fasano did something he said he knew he eventually was going to do: he brought back the combination of the Fasano name and pies with his new business, Pies by Fasano.

“I’ve known for the past 20 years that I was going to do this someday, and I’ve really known for the past 10 years I would do this,” said Fasano, who graduated in 1982 from Hinsdale Central, after attending Nazareth Academy for his first two years of high school.

“As a little kid, my dad used to bring us to the factory in Bedford Park on Saturdays. It was a real thrill to go, and it was an incredible feeling just going through the bakery and seeing your name on things and on the trucks that delivered the pies.”

During its original heyday, 500-600 fresh pies were delivered on each of the 70-plus routes served by Fasano and Sons Bakery, said Peter Fasano, who is off to a modest, but successful, start with Pies by Fasano.

He shares a bakery at which the pies — apple, Dutch apple, cherry, blueberry, pecan and seasonal pumpkin — are made. Pies by Fasano carries 9-inch pies and 4-inch junior pies. Locally, the junior pies are sold at the Shell station at Ogden Avenue and York Road in Hinsdale; Village Gourmet, 23 S. Prospect Ave., Clarendon Hills; and William Tell Restaurant, 6201 Joliet Road, Countryside. Fasano makes the deliveries in his Pies by Fasano truck.

He also partners with organizations for fund-raisers. His colorful pie truck recently rolled into the parking lot at St. Joseph School in Summit to make deliveries for an “easy-as-pie” fundraiser.

Macek is a member of St. Joseph parish, which is how she heard about the fundraiser.

“I really do hope the company comes back,” she said, while picking up her order.

Sheila Ciraulo and her daughter, Carly, drove in from La Grange to pick up their order for cherry and blueberry pies.

“My dad was a fireman, he used to pick up pies at the store (inside the plant),” Ciraulo said.

She also recalled how customers used to be able to buy broken pies for $2.

“Oh, my gosh, they were really good,” she said.

Along with providing his junior pies to some area businesses, Fasano also makes home deliveries of pies. And he recently made a deal for his 9-inch pies to be sold at Connie’s Family Restaurant, 3271 S. Harlem Ave., Berwyn. He plans in the near future to open his own facility for both baking and selling pies.

“The response has been overwhelming,” Fisano said. “People have great memories about Fasano pies. “The phone has been ringing off the hook; people are happy Fasano pies are back.”

And the Fasano pies of today are pretty much the same as was the case all those years ago when his father and grandfather ran the business.

“It really is the same, maybe with a few minor improvements,” he said. “I use quality products for our pies. I do feel a responsibility to do this right and have the same quality products my dad and grandfather always had. It’s still our family name on those pies, so I have to do it absolutely right.”

Fasano’s father, who turns 85 on Feb. 15 and lives in Florida, is very happy to see Fasano pies back on the market.

“It’s great,” he said. “I spent my entire life in pies, and I’m very proud of Pete. I talk to him pretty often and try to give him some good advice. The most important thing is the make the best product you can.”

And Peter Fasano promised to continue doing that.

“Nobody will ever say they got a bad Fasano pie,” he said.

More information on Pies by Fasano, is available by phone at (630) 400-5600, or online at piesbyfasano.com or https://www.facebook.com/FasanoPieCompany.

Donna Vickroy contributed to this story.

baking with Bill & Sheila

_____________________________________________________________________
If you require a high quality printout of this article, just click on the printer symbol next to ’Share and enjoy’, and we will do the rest. This site is hosted by (click on the graphic for more information)

Return from pies to Home Page

If you want to increase your site popularity and gain thousands of visitors – check out these sites THEY ARE FREE. Spanishchef more than doubled its ‘New Visitors’ last month simply by signing up to these sites:




Follow spanishchef.net on TWITTER