After 21 years of baking German cookies, pastries and wedding cakes for her customers, Ilsa Bechert is hanging up her white, ruffled apron.
In her words, "There comes a time."
The owner of Ilsa's Konditorei and CafΓ© will officially retire when she locks the door for the last time on Tuesday.
All existing cake orders will be filled and Bechert promises to deliver them herself.
"I'm a perfectionist and want to do things right for people," she said. "I've had a life of service and what I do comes from the heart, and people know that."
The konditorei has consumed her life since she opened it more than two decades ago in a small space in the Casas Adobes shopping center. She had no idea that she would end up making German treats for a generation of Tucsonans (after a move to Plaza Palomino, the bakery settled into its current home at 3355 N. Dodge Blvd.).
She didn't even want to bake wedding cakes at first, but now she's well-known for the konditorei's elaborate cakes. She and her husband, Wolfgang Bechert, had planned to open the konditorei together in 1984, with him handling the business and Ilsa the baking, but he died months before it opened. She's worn both hats ever since.
When the building she rents was sold recently, she decided to turn the page and begin what she calls the "fourth chapter" of her life.
"I have many interests and for 21 years they've been dormant," said Bechert. "I love reading, but it's been a luxury for me."
Bechert, 70, plans to spend time traveling, visiting her two daughters (one lives in Chicago and the other in Corvallis, Ore.) and seeing the states.
"I love gardening and going to the symphony. I love to read and write and do all sorts of crafty things, so my hands have to improve," she said, rubbing her fingers, which have become stiff and painful over the years. She can no longer hold a pastry bag but hopes that time will help her heal.
She may write a book, although she hasn't settled on a topic yet. "It will come. You have to become totally still inside and come into your whole self," she said.
After years of hard work at the konditorei (she was too exhausted to even put up a Christmas tree last month), she is looking forward to having personal time again. But she says she'll miss being a part of her customers' lives.
Bechert has helped grooms plan surprise fairytale weddings for their brides, helped couples celebrate golden anniversaries with a special dish served 50 years earlier at their wedding dinner and catered a reception for the Dalai Lama's recent visit to Tucson β the spiritual leader reportedly enjoyed the veggie finger sandwiches.
Then there was the elaborate cake Ilsa's prepared for another golden anniversary party. The cake served 72, but there were only 18 party guests, so she delivered boxes to freeze the leftovers. Except when the customer brought the cake stand back, he also brought back the boxes: there was no cake left over to freeze.
She even made a cake topped with an amazingly lifelike replica of the head of the groom's beloved dog, made out of rum ball mixture, a surprise from the bride.
"Oh, I'm full of stories," Bechert laughed.
Ilsa's serves breakfast and lunch, and over the years has served weekly German dinners, too. The owner, who was born in northern Germany, has created a welcoming place for customers, who often became friends with her, the staff and each other. Her regulars include a 94-year-old woman who arrives by cab every Thursday morning to visit with her konditorei chums.
"People like a hug and a touch," said Bechert, who will continue to make Tucson her home. "There are so many lonely people, and people aren't hesitant to come here alone."
She greets customers by name and spends time catching up with them.
"She's like a mother to everyone," said Christine Doepner, who worked for Bechert 18 years ago before she moved out of Tucson. Upon her return to the Old Pueblo about a year ago, she took a counter job at Ilsa's.
"I fit in here; I'm from Vienna," Doepner said. "It's the little things, fresh flowers on the tables, European music playing. People like that."
Doepner will soon be found behind the counter at the Village Bake House, 7882 N. Oracle Road, where Ilsa's wedding and specialty cakes, baked with her recipes, will be sold. Doepner was upset about the closing of the konditorei, but she's happy for her friend.
"We help so she can get more rest, but still, everything is on her shoulders," she said.
Chris Rensing, a University of Arizona microbiology assistant professor, is from Germany and laments that soon he'll be without the dense, dark bread he loves. "When you grow up in Germany, that's bread," he said, pointing to a loaf at Ilsa's.
"I think the bread here is the best. I'll have to compromise," Rensing said. "Her food tastes like a grandma's food, the real thing."
Eunice Jacobson has enjoyed Ilsa's for about 20 years, especially the poppy seed cake. "She's the only one who makes it, as far as I know. I use it for Christmas presents."
Sipping coffee at Ilsa's last week, Jacobson looked around at the small tables and explained that it takes a special personality to run a bakery.
"You don't get this at Dunkin' Donuts," she said.
Bechert won't be baking her own retirement cake, but a message she once wrote on a retirement cake for former UA President Henry Koffler would fit nicely on hers:
"A creative mind never rests, never retires, enjoys new challenges and stays young forever."
Konditorei closing
