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101 S. Main - Central Continental Bakery
The Central
Continental Bakery is not only one of the largest and most successful bakeries
in the northwest suburbs, it is also located on a very interesting site. The
most influential person in the development of Mount
Prospect was Cook County Commissioner William Busse and right here, where
Central Continental Bakery is today, was his first house in Mount Prospect. The
house was built here in 1894 and was where Busse married and raised his family.
This house can now be seen at 808 E. Central Street and is a part of the Mount
Prospect Historical Society’s Downtown Tour East.
After William Busse’s house was moved (first to
Emerson Street, then Central), a grocery store was built on the site of his
house. This store was operated by Fred Meeske who had been an
employee in William Busse Jr.'s grocery store. Meeske’s Market soon became a fixture of downtown Mount Prospect, known
especially for its fine meats. It also celebrated the German roots of the town
by adopting a German interior in 1965. The market passed into the hands of Fred
and Earl Meeske, sons of Fred Sr., but was sold in 1973 to Robert Burton as
competition was getting stronger. In 1984, the market was finally forced to
close as it could not compete with the larger chain supermarkets.
While the closing of Meeske’s Market mean Mount Prospect lost a known landmark of downtown, it also meant the addition of a new staple in the town. Central Continental Bakery was founded in 1979 in a strip shopping center about a block north of its present location. In 1985, after a remodeling supported in part by the Mount Prospect façade improvement program, the bakery opened at 101 S. Main. Owned by Bob and Roger Czerniak, it specializes in specialty cakes and sweets.