New Rockton bakery mixes modern setting with old-fashioned approach

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKTON — The culinary creator behind downtown’s new bakery is a young entrepreneur with an old-fashioned approach.

Everything that Anna Pipitone prepares at La Croûte Bakery Cafe, 116 W. Main St., starts with a bowl of flour. The 24-year-old baker and business owner takes pride in using whole ingredients and making every loaf of bread, scone or other treat from scratch. Nothing is premade she said, and that includes cultivating her own yeast from flour and water.

“It’s modern but old-fashioned ways. I’m doing things with whole, real ingredients and no preservatives,” Pipitone said. “I really believe in nourishing your body while also enjoying what you’re eating.”

Pipitone is gearing up her new bakery and cafe for its grand opening in one week on Thursday, Oct. 17. She’ll have some soft opening hours in the lead up to the official debut.

She hopes customers will find La Croûte is a perfect space for another approach that may seem old-fashioned: slowing down from the world’s hectic pace to sip a cappuccino or espresso and enjoy a croissant, cinnamon roll, muffin or other baked good.

“I really want people to come in here, take a few minutes out of there day just to relax and decompress, just take a little mental break from life,” Pipitone said. “Life gets to be too crazy sometimes, and people really need a space where they can just relax even if it’s just two minutes out of their day.”

The name is a nod to Pipitone’s training in French baking. She’s a graduate of The Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley, and then interned at Snake River Grill in Jackson, Wyoming, under James Beard award nominee Jeff Drew.

La Croûte is Pipitone’s first storefront, but Rockton residents will recognize her baked treats from a business she started as a teenager through Hononegah High School’s incubator program. Simply Sweet operated at pop-up events, through custom ordering and at places such as Rockton River Market for years before Pipitone moved on to this brick-and-mortar space in the village’s quaint downtown.

Tricia Diduch, manager of the Rockton River Market and the village’s planning and development administrator, said she met Pipitone through that incubator program. She said she saw Pipitone had the hustle needed to make it as a business owner.

Diduch said La Croûte offers a high-end experience you’d expect to find in bigger cities.

“The way that she has it designed with all the windows. She has a very engaging visitor experience,” Diduch said. “It’s a nice complement to not only downtown Rockton, but what we have featured in the area.”

Downtown Rockton already has a beloved coffee shop in DeeDee’s Main Street Coffee & Decor, Diduch said. DeeDee’s has been in business since 2020. Diduch said there’s room for both to succeed.

“It’s a different vibe there, and I think both of them complement each other,” she said.

At La Croûte, Pipitone will serve espressos, lattes, mochas, cappucinos, and regular drip coffee.

“I feel like Rockton really needed a place to get a good cup of espresso,” Pipitone said.

There will also be breads and pastries daily, including sourdough four days a week, cinnamon rolls and challah on Wednesdays, focaccia on Fridays, bagels Saturdays and baguettes on Sundays.

There’s also a mix of croissants, scones, muffins, cookies and cupcakes. La Croûte also takes custom orders.

One items she’s eager to debut at the grand opening Oct. 17 is the bacon cheddar chive scone.

“It’s a savory scone, but it still has the texture of the scone,” she said. “It’s like a biscuit but with bacon and cheddar and chives baked inside of it. Each bite has cheesy goodness — it’s so good.”

Pipitone said she has wanted to run her own bakery since her childhood. She said her interest began with her two grandmothers — Pina, the family’s cream puff queen, and Anna, the bread maestra.

She also comes from a family of restaurateurs. Her parents run Sam’s Pizza in Rockton and Pino’s on Main in Rockford.

“Food is life for us. It’s always been a part of our culture,” she said. “It’s not just to nourish us, it’s part of our traditions.”

Now, as an adult living out her childhood dream of running a bakery, Pipitone said she still gets a childlike excitement when people appreciate a good loaf of bread.

“It’s really cool for me to see people come in the door and buy something that I made. It’s like a little kid making art and giving it to their mom — they feel special,” she said. “That’s how I feel every time somebody comes through the door.”

About | La Croûte Bakery Cafe

Grand opening: Thursday, Oct. 17

Where: 116 W. Main St., Rockton

Hours: 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday through Friday; 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday

Social: Instagram @lacroute.rockton; Facebook.com/lacroute.rockton

Contact: 815-957-0003; LaCroute.rockton@gmail.com

This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas