Four months ago, a long line formed in the empty lot along Broadway near Rosemont Boulevard.
Hundreds of people stood in the heat in hopes of reaching the bright pink truck, taking their pick between bear-shaped cookies and colorful lunchbox-sized cakes.
Within the first hour, all the cakes and cookies were gone, but no one seemed to mind. In fact, those in line could be heard saying, “She deserves this” and “I’m so happy for her!”
That’s the kind of community Christa Lebron and her supporters have built.
Lebron, aka Chez Peachy, captures our hearts and tastebuds with her girly bento cakes. It’s pretty much impossible to not smile as you reach the front of her truck to receive your strawberry matcha complete with an edible picture of Hello Kitty.
Now, the walls of the building at 501 N. Sixth Ave. are being painted a light pink, signifying that Lebron and her beloved business are taking on their next chapter.
This fall, Chez Peachy will officially open its first brick-and-mortar, featuring Lebron's Barbie cakes, Kawaii cookies, sweet drinks and signature pink décor.
“We just figured it was the right time,” Lebron said. “Maybe it's a little fast, but we were like, well, if it's meant to be, it's meant to be, and all the cards have been aligning the way we want them to.”
Since April, Chez Peachy’s pink bento cake truck has been parking at the dirt lot near Broadway and Rosemont, typically from Thursday through Saturday. Don't be surprised when you spot groups of people lining up outside the truck. Despite the triple-digit weather, her customers patiently wait for the chance to order her fudgey brownies or a cookie monster latte complete with bright blue cold foam.
The Chez Peachy food truck serves customers during the Summer Night Market at the MSA Annex on May 24. The owner is opening a brick-and-mortar this fall.
In the last four months, Lebron, her husband Joe, and their other team members have had to juggle different areas of the businesses including quantities, proportions and customer feedback, becoming better and better with each week.
“We've been selling out every week,” Lebron said. “Since we announced a new recipe, people have been nonstop coming, and we've been doing the same amount of cakes as we used to do when we first opened the food truck. That averages to like 250-300 cakes a week, so close to 80-100 cakes a day.”
Though the truck has been up and running for only four months, Chez Peachy has already started to outgrow their new venture. Joe randomly looked up restaurant locations for rent around town and came across the spot on Sixth Avenue, which formerly housed Oralia Coffee and Kitchen.
Christa Lebron is getting ready to open a brick-and-mortar this fall.
After falling in love with the spot and all the stars aligning, the couple jumped at the opportunity to rent the space. It was truly meant to be.
“I've always dreamed about having our own bakery,” Lebron said. “I was starstruck to be able to know that we're going to be able open our very first bakery at the age of 24 and 27.”
The front half of the building will be their café, serving up all their sweet drinks such as their strawberry matcha and mermaid refreshers. The other part of the space will be their bakery, complete with seating and a photo wall where customers can take pictures showing off their Strawberry Shortcake-themed bento cakes.
Christa Lebron serves vegan bento cakes, specialty drinks and more from the Chez Peachy food truck during the Vegan Night Market on June 1.
It wouldn’t be a Chez Peachy project if there wasn’t pink involved! Lebron will be “pink-ifying” the space, painting the walls all kinds of shades of her trademark color. Flowers, peaches, cowboy boots and her logo will also be painted on the walls. It will be a girly girl's dream.
“We're very excited to transform this place into something unique, engaging, fun, aesthetically pleasing and very trendy,” Lebron said.
You can expect to see their usual menu items featured at the new place. Colorful bento cakes, Kawaii cookies and brownies will all be available. Lebron also plans on adding jumbo cupcakes, the opportunity to pick out which Kawaii cookies you want and special gourmet cookies with fillings such as jam or Nutella.
“Down the line, once everybody feels comfortable and confident, that's when we'll start implementing potential custom orders again or even adding some other menu items or some exotic flavors,” Lebron said.
Between the truck, getting the new bakery ready for opening and hosting cake-decorating workshops, you may be asking, “How does she do it all?!” Thankfully, she has a team that has been working hard on the drinks and perfecting the swirls of frosting that surround the border of each cake.
“I've had moments where I've broken down crying and I just wanted to quit, and I didn't want to do it, but having a business partner like Joe, it's been so helpful,” Lebron said. “Then having the team where I could actually let go and I can focus more on social media content or brand deals, it really does help. I couldn't do any of this without them. If they weren't there, I think I would still be at home, maybe doing a couple of markets once in a while.”
Right now, Lebron and her team are hard at work getting their spot up to the Chez Peachy standards. You can expect to visit the pink bakery for a latte and cake when it opens this fall.
“I'm so excited to have a space where people can finally come and embrace their inner girliness, their inner child or just overall creativity,” Lebron said. “I can't wait to see it all unfold into something beautiful, positive and just amazing.”
