Our History
Since 1905 Italy has not been the same
It all started with an incredibly special spumoni created and lovingly produced by Lezza Spumoni & Desserts, Inc. The origin of this spumoni is Naples, Italy and the recipe came to Chicago’s West Side with Salvatore Lezza in 1905. The recipe has remained with the family for over one hundred years!
Salvatore handed the secret of genuine Spumoni down to his son Victor and today Lezza Spumoni & Desserts, Inc. is under the careful care of Ed Lezza Sr. (3rd generation) and nephew Louis (4th generation) with a younger generation coming up in the business. The company continues to walk in the footsteps of their Grandfather and Great Grandfather keeping the flavors of Italy alive and flourishing.
The secret of Spumoni was not the only masterpiece passed down through the generations. Hundreds of recipes have been preserved and perfected, keeping the Lezza tradition alive.
From its humble beginnings on Taylor and Halsted streets in Chicago’s Little Italy Lezza Spumoni & Desserts has grown into a premiere bakery and gelateria that still produces mouthwatering desserts by hand. Using only the highest quality ingredients our century old recipes have been re-formulated to meet today’s health standards yet keeping the flavors as our customers have come to know.
Moving to Bellwood, IL gave us the space we needed to expand production and move into serving distributors to get our products onto tables across the country. Our little store within the production kitchen was still the neighborhood place to be on Saturdays to have your coffee and chat as you picked out your baked goods for the week or picked up your celebration cake.
Another growth spell happened, and it was time to give the store its own space and our kitchen another cooler! Our retail location in Elmhurst, IL was born in August of 2015 and became a very welcome addition to the Spring Rd shopping district! Listening to the needs of our customers we added a Cake Tasting Room to make wedding or specialty cake tasting an experience all its own, expanded the coffee bar and proudly serve Lavazza Coffees and Espresso and installed cases and freezers to have everything we make available for our neighbors’ table. We’ve enjoyed staffing our locations with residents from High School kids to seniors not quite ready for full retirement. We are proud to be your neighborhood bakery and gelateria!
Whether you’re looking for a signature dessert for your restaurant or a dozen cupcakes to celebrate a birthday at home, Lezza Spumoni & Desserts has just what you’re looking for and likely a lot of what you didn’t know you needed! Stop in and we will help make your table delicious!
Mission Statement - The Lezza 3 P's
Our Purpose is simple; share our family’s love of creating and baking the finest Italian desserts and deliver them to tables across America.
Our Pledge is to use only the finest ingredients to honor the recipes created by our ancestors and uphold the expectations our Great Grandfather, Grandfather and Fathers have raised us with expecting no less.
Our Promise is to stand behind our products and the love and care that goes into every Cannoli Shell & Filling, Spumoni, cake, cookie, Gelato, and Italian Ice we produce.