WICKER PARK — In an "all-hands-on-deck" effort, staff at Alliance Bakery are racing to restock the shop's pastry case with a fresh supply of Chance the Rapper cookies, the first batch of which sold out within hours on Thursday, said owner and pastry chef Peter Rios.
While Chicagoans are certainly crazy for all things Chance-related at the moment, here's the deal-sweetener: $1 from the sale of each cookie is being donated to SocialWorks, the rapper's nonprofit group that seeks to empower youth through arts, education and civic engagement.
"It's taken off. We are excited about the cause and want to help. We are coming up with a few other cookie designs and have amazing decorators on hand to help. This is an all-hands-on-deck job," Rios said.
Rios said he aimed to have 350 cookies on hand for an anticipated weekend rush, after the first 100 flew out the door Thursday.
Customers snapped up the Wicker Park bakery's Chance-themed shortbread butter cookies, which cost $5 each and were available in two styles: One featured a silhouette of the rapper looming over Chicago's skyline; the other depicted the Grammy Award-winner's baseball hat, with the number "3" referencing his third mixtape, "Coloring Book."
[Alliance Bakery]Sweetening the pot: Rios said
The bakery wants to sell 5,000 cookies by the end of the CPS school year, and if it can be done, Rios says he will match the first $5,000 raised with his own money, to create a $10,000 donation to Chance's foundation.
The unexpected Chance-mania caught Rios and his team by surprise, and they spent Friday cranking out Shamrock cookie orders before switching over production to a new batch of Chance cookies.
"A cookie can take around four to five hours to make and dry before putting it into the [display] case," Rios said.
The idea for the fundraiser was the brainchild of longtime Alliance employee Tony Randall, Rios said.
Randall was inspired by the $1 million Chance promised to donate to Chicago's schools for arts education and the additional $10,000 grants to nine neighborhood CPS schools throughout the city.
Customers can pick up cookies at both Alliance locations: the Wicker Park bakery, 1736 W. Division St., and Alliance Patisserie in River North, 615 N. State St.
The bakery is also accepting pre-orders, which will be ready for pickup on Wednesday if ordered now. Email info@alliancebakery.com for more information.
Check out video of the Alliance team, frosting as fast as they can:
[Alliance Bakery]
