Twenty-five years ago, Craig Zoberis and his wife, Tracy, had a white chocolate mousse wedding cake from Toni's Patisserie & Café. A couple of weeks ago, Toni Cox made the top tier again for their early anniversary. This time Zoberis is also one of her bosses.
Earlier this year he and two other Hinsdale residents, Mark Konieczka and Tom Wake, bought the bakery from Cox and her husband, Paul Pell, who opened it in Hinsdale 32 years ago. A week before that sale became public, The Hinsdalean ran a profile of Pete Tortorello. He has lived in Hinsdale for 20 years, and his company has bought five downtown buildings since November. And the pavilion going up at the west end of Burlington Park is being paid for entirely by local donors, not the village.
Taken one at a time, these are ordinary small-town news items. Together they show one shift. Downtown Hinsdale is moving out of the hands of families who held it for decades and into the hands of people who live a few blocks away.
The bakery deal almost went to someone else
The Toni's sale was close. Zoberis read in November that Eatz, a broker that sells restaurants, had listed a business for sale. He recognized it from the description and "chased this broker." Cox was already working with another buyer, but that deal fell apart in the first week of January, and the broker called Zoberis.
He brought the idea to Konieczka over dinner. Konieczka works in commercial real estate. About ten years ago, he and his wife Stephanie, who trained at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, had thought about opening a cupcake shop in town. Wake has a background in wholesale distribution, and he gave the most honest reason for joining: "I'm failing at my recent retirement. You can only play so many games of Wordle."
What regulars care about most came with the sale. Cox's recipes were part of the deal. She called them "everything from hand-written to typed up to in the computer system," stained from years of use. Cox is staying on indefinitely during the transition, and Steve Rennau is staying on as director of operations.
The first change you might see is on the drink list. Toni's has served only wine and beer. The new owners applied for a broader liquor license, which village trustees were scheduled to vote on Oct. 6. Konieczka's preview: "Perhaps there are bloody Marys in the future."
Zoberis admitted the partners first hoped nobody would find out they had bought it.
"We want them to think Toni is back there somewhere."
One owner, one corner, five buildings
Toni's changed owners as a business. Tortorello is changing the buildings themselves. Fairfield Properties bought its first downtown building in November 2025 and four more during 2026, mostly on or near the southwest corner of First and Washington. Tortorello says many of his investors are local. His office is close enough that he walks between his buildings.
Here are the buildings, in the order you'd pass them on a short walk:
- 11-21 E. First St. His first purchase, in November 2025. 10 Friends, Sweet William and Blue Mercury are on the ground floor, with apartments and offices upstairs, including his own office.
- 102 S. Washington St. John Papenhausen built it in 1888 for his tailoring business. It was the only commercial building on the south side of First Street at the time, and his family of eight lived on the second floor. Alixandra Blue is on the garden level and Studio W is on the first floor. Upstairs will be a renovated two-floor apartment Tortorello calls the "Owners Unit," with a view of the business district from the turret window.
- 104-106 S. Washington St. The second-floor offices above My Eye Doctor will become four one-bedroom apartments of 670 to 840 square feet as office leases expire. The conversion requires sprinklers throughout the building.
- 8-10 W. First St. Tortorello calls it the "yellow house." Crews are putting on new gray siding and upgrading the HVAC and electrical systems. Frame Bridge, a national online custom framing company, will move in.
- The 700-square-foot building behind 8-10 W. First. It used to be a salon. It's getting a bay window, skylights and an accessible bathroom, and its door is being moved east to line up with the walkway to First Street so the shop is visible from the street.
The last building on that list matters most for daily life downtown. Tortorello said the paved area now used for parking could become a brick patio for the right tenant. "It could be a food use. It could be retail. It could be anything," he said. He added, "I think we need more food options for quick bites in Hinsdale."
He was also direct about the trade-off. Many downtown buildings that one family owned for decades are now changing hands, he said, and as they are improved, rents will go up. "You're making a significant investment in the property and there's a lot of spending power in the community," he said.
The apartments are part of the same plan. Tortorello estimates downtown Hinsdale has 20 to 25 apartments, mostly vintage and "tucked away" where people don't notice them. He sees demand from residents who sell a house but want to stay in town in something smaller. The four new one-bedrooms above My Eye Doctor would add to that small stock.
The quick bites he wants are already in the works
Two of the quick-food spots Tortorello said downtown needs are already underway, both from operators with existing businesses.
Sam and Patricia Vlahos, who run Fuller House, are building Humble Patty at 50 S. Garfield Ave. It's a quick-service spot for burgers, soft serve and other fast-cooking food. Trustees approved the exterior, site plan and outdoor dining, on the condition that a safety barrier is added. The space was Dips & Dogs, which closed about five years before the plan was announced. Opening was first expected in August, then by Labor Day. Both dates have passed, and no report has confirmed an opening, so for now it's fair to say it's coming.
Lou and Julie Rubin picked the empty Brush Hill depot at 25 E. Hinsdale Ave. for the fifth Hometown Coffee and Juice. It will serve coffee, juices, smoothies and food made from scratch. The Rubins committed to at least $1.25 million in interior work. In April they said they hoped to open "by the end of the year," and there's no newer timeline.
So the burger spot comes from a downtown restaurant family expanding, and the coffee shop is a regional operator reusing a depot that had been sitting empty. Neither is a chain placed by a developer.
A pavilion built with neighbors' money
The clearest example of downtown being shaped by its own residents is at the west end of Burlington Park. The village calls the new pavilion 100% privately funded. The donors, according to The Hinsdalean:
- UChicago Medicine AdventHealth Hinsdale: $175,000
- Hinsdale Chamber of Commerce: $100,000
- Builder Dave Knecht: an $85,000 in-kind contribution
- Michael Abraham: donated design services
- Others named: James Bouchard, Hinsdale Bank & Trust, the Honorable Kenneth J. Moy Fund at the DuPage Foundation, Nick and Kari Galassi, PJ and Abby Huizenga, Jeff and Julie Akers, RJ D'Orazio, and Matt and Stephanie Tuthill
The July 4 event was a ceremonial groundbreaking. On Aug. 25, trustees voted 5-1 to approve a $441,121 construction contract with Dave Knecht Homes. In early September, the board roundup said construction was "expected to begin soon." The village's project page still lists fall 2026 for completion, though it does not say when that estimate was last updated.
What's on the calendar around it
All of this is happening around events downtown already has. The Chamber's events now take place on a block where more of the storefronts and buildings belong to people who live in Hinsdale.
- Mondays through Oct. 12, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.: The Hinsdale Farmers Market on Chicago Avenue between Garfield Avenue and Washington Street, next to Burlington Park. As of today, two Mondays are left.
- Thursday, Oct. 8, 5 to 8 p.m.: The Chamber's seventh annual Hinsdale Wine Walk, with downtown retailers as stops.
- Saturday, Oct. 24, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.: Hinsdale Family Fall Fest at Hinsdale Middle School and downtown. It's free and includes trick-or-treating at participating downtown businesses, a costume contest, and free pumpkins for the first 500 participants.
- Friday, Dec. 4, 5 to 7 p.m.: The Chamber's 60th annual Christmas Walk, with Santa, a tree lighting, a holiday train and a carousel.
Toni's will go through its first holiday season under the new owners during these same weeks. Cox called the fourth quarter "always a huge thing for us and a lot of work." For more on the village's downtown and the streets around it, see our Hinsdale neighborhood guide.
If you own a home near First and Washington and are wondering how downtown's changes affect its value, Matt Laricy and the LARICY Team's Hinsdale agents follow this corner closely. Get a straight valuation and we'll tell you what it means for your address.
