Meet us where the tamales are top-notch
They had us at homemade tamales! Some swear by the tamales at Aracely’s Bakery in Melrose Park, calling the juicy tamales filled with chicken, pork, or poblano peppers and cheese the best tamales you’ll find in Chicagoland.
This family-owned bakery has wowed Chicagoans since 1984 when a couple opened the bakery with nothing more than a dream. Now the bakery has expanded to multiple locations and it’s been featured on Chicago’s Best TV show.
It’s the welcoming atmosphere that the family is most proud of. Come in to dunk a warm danish in a cup of coffee and to make new friends!
Choose from the artisan bread baked daily or from the stacks of colorful cookies and decadent cookies.
Aracely’s opens early, and you’ll want to arrive early since the tamales can sell out by 10am!
A sandwich served on fresh bread or a buttered croissant is about $8. Tamales are $3 each. (Reviewers say they could eat 12 tamales in one sitting!)
Baker Sixto Rincon says to never trust a skinny baker! He loves baking from the heart and he may be at the bakery to introduce you to the traditional concha. Rincon started the bakery in 1984 with his wife, Maria.
They named the bakery for their daughter Araceli who, at first, did not want to work in the bakery when she grew up. Her husband, Junior Pinal, however, was running the La Grange location when Araceli realized that the corporate world was not for her.
She then joined her husband and father in the family baking enterprise.
In a beautiful twist on an expanding family-owned business, different members of the family operate the different locations.
Located in Melrose Park, Aracely’s Bakery is just a 14-mile drive west of downtown Chicago at 134 North 19th Avenue.
Aracely’s has other locations in Chicagoland as well, including in Cicero and Franklin Park. You can find them serving tamales at local farmer's markets as well!
