Our Story

Ruzica Cuk (Seka to her friends) moved to Illinois in 1993 from Serbia with her husband Dragan and young daughter Mila. With her first taste of American bread, she knew that she wanted to open a bakery that offered traditional European breads made from scratch with no preservatives or artificial additives.

Pekara Bakery and Bistro opened in January 2005 in the heart of downtown Champaign. Two years later, we have found our niche as one of the fantastic independently-owned businesses in the community. We provide bread to other local businesses, and provide pastries and other baked goods to various special events and parties. We are also very happy to donate old breads and pastries to local shelters (contact us for details or to request a donation).

We have great gratitude to our loyal customers and the local businesses that continue to support us, we are excited and look forward to serving you soon!

seka