“One of my favorite memories is when we first opened, and it still is to this day, is to see a child on the opposite side of the glass,” said Morgan Tyschper. “So then I’m on the other side and you can see their eyes just light up because they get so excited about a cookie, and I’m like ‘I was that kid!’ It’s just so fun to see that again.”
It’s a sweet feeling that’s filled the past 10 years for Morgan Tyschper and her husband Kevin. The two opened Naperville bakery DeEtta’s, 428 W. 5th Ave., in 2014, serving up cookies, cakes, and other confectionaries to the community.
Tyschpers bring DeEtta’s to Naperville
Morgan left her role as a pediatric dietitian to start the bakery in honor of her late mother.
“I have been baking since a very, very young age,” said Morgan Tyschper. “So when it was time for me to open the bakery, I wanted to make sure that I did something that was in memory of her because she’s the one that initiated my love of baking and said, ‘Here are the cookbooks, here’s the sugar, but clean up afterwards.’”
At DeEtta’s, bakers create sweet and savory treats fresh every morning, with specialty items throughout the year, like their current offering of a vanilla lamb cake.
“We definitely like to follow the season, so whether it’s fall, we might have a plethora of pumpkin items, or we might have something that’s apple cinnamon,” said Tyschper. “In the winter, maybe it’s a peppermint marshmallow or it’s a yule log.”
The bakery has had its share of accolades over the years, winning best chocolate dessert at the Naperville Chocolate Festival and the best doughnut in Chicago at Doughnut Fest.
And in 2022, DeEtta’s bakers Alexa Abaroa and Julie Thompson finished runners-up at the 21st annual Pillsbury Bakers’ Plus Creative Decorating Competition in Las Vegas, Nevada.
But there have been challenging times as well, like during the COVID-19 pandemic. Morgan is thankful that the Naperville community continued to support the bakery through that stretch.
“We felt very fortunate that customers were still coming because at that time everyone was nervous and maybe didn’t want to venture out,” said Tyschper. “I actually remember one customer saying thank you for being a piece of normal during this time. And that just struck such a chord with me.”
A decade of smiles in Naperville
DeEtta’s is just a stone’s throw away from Naperville North High School and Morgan says students visit the bakery like clockwork every day after school. She hopes her bakery can continue to bring smiles to the faces of students and Naperville locals for years to come.
“The fact that kids come over and they sit and have a cookie, and maybe sit on the park bench, that is so amazing to me,” said Tyschper. “I hope that we’re a part of their lives and they talk about it when they’re 35. ‘Remember when we used to go to DeEtta’s?’ I just think that’s so cool.”
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