WICKER PARK — Commuters craving a gourmet doughnut near the CTA Blue Line Damen "L" stop now have one less option with the shuttering of Glazed & Infused's walk-up window four days before Christmas.
Located in the back end of the Francesca's Forno restaurant, which closed in October and is set to be replaced by a not-yet-announced concept from the neighboring Big Star group, the window was scheduled to close this month, so the news of its permanent closing on Monday was not a surprise.
"No one likes to see a business close, even if it's a competitor. I think they were doing well enough to stay open but since there is no longer a Francesca's restaurant in that space, there wasn't a spot for them," said Rich Labriola, owner of Stan's Donuts, located across the street.
A spokeswoman for Glazed & Infused did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A worker at another Glazed & Infused location said on Tuesday that the chain was planning to find a new spot in Wicker Park but those details were still being worked out.
The Wicker Park Glazed & Infused opened in April 2012 and was the chain's first location; it has now been deleted from the goglazed.com website. Owned by Francesca's Restaurant group, Glazed & Infused offers other outposts in Lincoln Park, West Loop, River North, Streeterville and suburban Elmhurst.
The chain is known for its specialty creation, a bacon-topped maple Long John.
In late 2013, Stan's Donuts opened across the way from Glazed & Infused's walk-up window, in the former Skewerz spot at 1560 N. Damen Ave. At that time, Labriola called the proximity to another gourmet doughnut maker "100 percent coincidence."
"Everyone has favorites, being across the street from [Glazed & Infused] will feed off of each other. It brings more attention to doughnuts and can help each other's businesses," Labriola said in 2012.
Other nearby coffee and doughnut or pastry shops that opened after Glazed & Infused include La Colombe, Dunkin Donuts and Bru Coffee, all within one block. Earlier this month, Dove's Luncheonette launched $1 "honor system coffee" on weekdays.
