Jerabek's

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On your way up Humboldt, take a left on Winifred Street and stop at Jerabek’s New Bohemian Coffeehouse and Bakery. There is nothing historic about the building, but the family has been operating a bakery since Ed Jerabek, a Czech immigrant, opened one in St. Paul in 1906. One might say that Edward Jerabek had pastry, or at least flour, in his blood. His father was an immigrant miller from Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. Edward came to St. Paul as an adult, from the Czech community in Silver Lake, McLeod County.

He went straight into the retail baking business, first on Front Avenue in the North End, then 710 Smith Street (the building still stands, now occupied by Capital Deals bike shop), a few blocks south of the High Bridge, then two years on West Seventh Street, and finally, in 1926, at Winifred and Stryker where it remains today. Jerabek’s may be the oldest continuing commercial establishment on the West Side. The current owners are the first who are not descendants of the founder, but they do continue some Czech pastry traditions -- the pastry recipes are original.