Family bakeries are built on love, legacy, and long hours and sometimes on hard choices. As families grow, so do dreams, skill sets, and the desire for independence. Some families fracture under that pressure. Others find a way to evolve.
The Downer family did the latter and they did it with intention and success.
At the heart of this story is Bennison’s Bakery, a Chicagoland institution founded in 1938. Just 15 minutes north sits its younger, modern sibling, Eva Dean’s Bakery Café. Two locations. Two brands. One family. One shared foundation.
“Bennison’s has been around for a long time (since 1938) and honestly, that history is something you really feel the second you walk in,” the Blaine Downer, from Bennison’s shared. “It started with Larry Bennison during the Depression, and the focus on real ingredients (butter, cream, eggs) set the tone for everything that came after.”
That commitment to quality was carried forward when Guy Downer Sr. purchased the bakery in 1967, and later by Jory Downer, who began working at the bakery in the 1970s.
“Jory took baking really seriously (culinary school, constant studying) but despite the awards, he’s the first to tell you the basics matter most,” they said. This summer marked his 50th anniversary at Bennison’s... a milestone that speaks volumes about consistency, humility, and craft.
Today, Bennison’s is known for classic European-style baking: croissants, artisan breads, pączki, stollen, and the holiday traditions customers plan their seasons around.
“People don’t just come back for how good everything is — they come back for the memories,” Blaine explained. “We’ve been part of birthdays, holidays, Sunday mornings… even tough moments. You see kids who used to come in holding their parents’ hands now bringing in their own kids.”
As the next generation grew up, and married partners equally passionate about food, the family reached a crossroads familiar to many bakery families.
“I grew up in the baking industry. I tried other things, but food is what always felt right,” Jordana shared. “My husband is the chef and I’m the baker. Opening Eva Dean’s felt like the perfect opportunity to collaborate — with the help of my dad.”
Rather than forcing everyone into one operation, the family chose a different path. Jory partnered with Jordana and her husband Garrett to purchase a building in Wilmette and open Eva Dean’s Bakery Café, a business with its own identity, menu, and energy.
“What I love most is that I get to work with my best friend — my dad,” Jordana said. “I like being on my feet, working with my hands, creating every day.”
Eva Dean’s quickly became known for laminated doughs, chocolate chip cookies, avocado toast, and savory mushroom toast but more than that, for its role in the community.
“I make a point to know our regulars by name,” Jordana shared. “It’s very special that families choose us to celebrate their big life moments. I like to believe Eva Dean’s is part of people’s core memories, bringing them together in real time.”
Running two distinct bakeries, with different brands, formats, and teams, requires clarity behind the scenes.
At Bennison’s, BakeSmart is woven into nearly every part of daily operations.
“BakeSmart is really at the center of how we function day to day,” the team explained. “It ties together online ordering, in-store orders, production planning, and reporting so everything lives in one place.”
Before BakeSmart, holidays were especially taxing.
“They were juggling online orders, phone orders, handwritten notes, printed tickets — everything at once,” they shared. “Nothing was impossible, but everything took longer than it should have. So much energy went into managing the chaos instead of improving systems.”
With BakeSmart in place, planning became proactive instead of reactive.
“Being able to run reports and see how much we sold before helps tremendously when forecasting,” they said. “We can see when items sold out and adjust production. The automated reports even let us stay connected when we’re not physically at the bakery.”
At Eva Dean’s, BakeSmart supports growth without overwhelming a young team.
“Online orders for custom cakes were a big moment where we realized BakeSmart was making our lives easier,” Jordana noted. “We like to offer options without the lengthy ordering process and BakeSmart helps us do that.”
“During busy seasons, being able to print organized reports and production sheets makes a huge difference,” she added.
This isn’t just a story about two bakeries. It’s a story about making space.
Space for the next generation to lead.
Space for different ideas and identities.
Space for family members to work together without being on top of each other.
As Bennison’s leadership put it:
“Technology doesn’t replace the heart of what we do. It protects it. By taking care of the logistics, it gives us more time and energy to focus on quality, consistency, and the baking itself.”
And from Eva Dean’s:
“We’re still establishing ourselves in the community, and that’s exciting. Growth is what motivates us, growing thoughtfully, with the right systems in place, so we can keep showing up for our customers and our team.”
The Downer family didn’t choose between tradition and growth.
They built systems that let them have both.
They didn’t just preserve a legacy.
They gave it room to keep going.
If you are part of a family bakery wondering how to grow without breaking what you've built, we'd love to hear your story and see if BakeSmart can provide you with the right tools to get there!