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Maurice Lenell Cookies closes it Norridge Factory

December 30th, 2008 by Scott Marks



Credit: MMChicago @ Flickr

Forget about Celebrity Rehab and the new 90210. In my house, The WGN News at Nine is must-see TV. Thank God for SuperStation WGN! They haven’t changed in fifty years! Were it up to the dupas at ‘GN, the news would still be taped on 2″ magnetic stock.

TV news hasn’t been this much fun since the O.J. trial, but even I wasn’t prepared for what came out of Antoine Lewis’ Joker-shaped mouth. No, not what that putz Rod Blagojevic is doing to poor, hapless Roland Burris, I’m talking about the closing of the Maurice Lenell Cookie Factory!!!

The following message appears on the company’s website:

NOTICE - - The ONLINE and Norridge stores ARE NOW CLOSED. We are sorry, but we can not accept any more sales. The last minute rush was over-whelming to say the least - and as it is, we will not be able to fill all of the orders that were placed. The ONLINE store will reopen sometime in February 2009 - after we move to our new location. We also hope to have a new Outlet store in the Chicago area - once we have acquired space, we will let you know where to find us. We hope you will check us out there and on the web, for all your favorites, and some new ones. We appreciate your patronage, and though the “old” Maurice Lenell will be gone, a “new” one will carry on the tradition. We hope you will continue to support us. Happy Holidays ! WE WILL FILL ALL POSSIBLE ORDERS, AND WILL REFUND THOSE THAT WE COULD NOT FILL. Thank you for your understanding. See you in February !

Maurice Lenell cookies were a part of my childhood. My Aunt Fay had tins filled with them. They were a giveaway prize if your ping pong ball landed in Bozo Bucket #1. My dad would stop at the Norridge outlet store on the way to visit my grandparents in Oak Park and pick up a freshly baked box. Gosh only knows how many bags of cookies I smuggled into the Norridge Theatre. And a smart shopper knew exactly where to look for half priced boxes of damaged pinwheels.

The bakery has been in business since 1937 and the Norridge factory was opened in 1956. The company, formed by three Swedish immigrants, went bankrupt earlier this year.

Every assortment contained those star-shaped cookies each with a red synthetic jelly dot in the center. That gummy dot is almost as sick-making as circus peanuts and candy corn. (Oofah! I’m gagging!) I’d gnaw around the center and toss the mystery mucilage. My cookie of choice was the icebox pinwheel. They were marvelous: A chocolate swirl in the center surrounded by a fuchsia perimeter that left that milk a lovely shade of pink. What I wouldn’t give to ring out the old year with a tin of pinwheels, a Big Gulp cup, a half gallon of Alta Dena 2% and a ladle.

Al’v shalom Maurice Lenell.

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