Milano Bakery 100th Year Celebration

Milano Bakery Hits Century Milestone, Featured in Herald News

Baking runs deep in the DeBenedetti family’s blood

By LAUREN LEONE–CROSS
The Herald News

Brothers Darin and Mario DeBenedetti III remember walking around their grandfather’s basement as young boys – with pairs of ripped-out Italian bread rolls as makeshift shoes.

“I’m thinking ‘Dad, instead of throwing these rolls out or making bread crumbs, why don’t we make shoes out of ’em?’ ” recalled Mario DeBenedetti III, 49, of Joliet, on a recent Friday morning. “We grew up sleeping on flour sacks and helping our dad out with early morning delivery runs.”

With such stories, it’s easy to see how the art of bread baking runs deep in the DeBenedetti family’s blood – 100 years deep. Milano Bakery, 427 S. Chicago St., is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.

For many years, the two brothers’ childhood home was located next to the Chicago Street bakery. The fourth-generation family business has been in Joliet since 1926, but the bakery has been in the family since 1915, beginning with immigrants Mario DeBenedetti Sr., his sister Mary, and brother-in-law Frank Soffianti.

The family business – named after Milan, Italy – has been passed down from one generation to the next, but “nobody was ever given nothing,” Mario DeBenedetti III explained.

“Our father taught us to work hard,” said Mario DeBenedetti III, company president, who oversees the business and planning. His brother Darin is vice president and handles production.

“My dad didn’t turn the bakery over to me. He sold it to me. He taught me how to survive in the baking business,” Mario DeBenedetti III said.

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