From Baumann's to Zettlmeier's, It's Paczki Day in the Southland

The sign on the case of pastries tells customers that will be closed Wednesday for two reasons: to celebrate Ash Wednesday and to recuperate from Paczki Day.

The line was streaming out the door of the traditional bakery at 11 a.m., with workers doling out several varieties of the donut-like treat. Raspberry, strawberry, cheese and prune were among the classic flavors served.

Has it been like this all day?

"Since 4:30 a.m.," said owner Dee Zettlmeier, taking a brief moment away from the throng. "And I got here at 8:30 last night to get ready."

But why the rush at this small Tinley Park store? Surely there are dozens of places to pick up paczki (or if you just want one, a paczek)?

"But they have the best," confided one elderly customer who didn't give her name.

By 11:50 a.m., the rush had died down at – along with a lot of the inventory.

"We're almost sold out at this point," co-owner Becky Palermo said.

This was at least three times larger than any Paczki Day in the bakery's history, Palermo said. She credited that to the "Extreme Paczki" they debuted this year, with flavors like Atomic Mash-Up, Turtle (the chocolate-carmel, not the reptile), Maple Bacon (with a slice of bacon on top) and Oh Captain My Captain (a mixture of Captain Morgan Rum and Cap'n Crunch breakfast cereal).

"It's not your grandma's paczki and I think that's what's selling them," Palermo said.

For people who do want their grandma's paczki, this Orland Park mainstay had hour-long lines stretching over to the Chinese restaurant next door.

"No one's going to leave the line because they know how good (the paczki) are," said Lockport resident Laura Woloszyn, recovering from her hour-long wait in a nearby cafe.

"It is our busiest day of the year, busier than before Christmas," said Cathy Baumann, the bakery's owner.

Since it opened its doors 28 years ago Baumann's has been serving up paczki every Fat Tuesday. It has 17 varieties of the treat. Extra help is called in to dole out the thousands of pastries that will be sold.

"It shows that people like having something to celebrate," Baumann said. "We see a lot of familiar faces coming in, but there are always new faces that come in too."

Coming Tomorrow: Patch editors rank paczki from local bakeries in a chowdown showdown.