Farewell, Maurice Lenell

For those of you that grew up around Norridge/Harwood Heights/Chicago near the Harlem Irving Plaza shopping mall (the HIP), it’s a sad, sad time of year. The Maurice Lenell Cookie Company (4747 N. Harlem Ave., Norridge) filed for bankruptcy last year, and has now officially closed. The factory is relocating to Indiana, according to the Chicago Tribune. However, other sources say the new location will be in Mexico or “overseas”. Still others say the future of the company is undetermined, as Consolidated Biscuit Co., the company that bought Maurice Lenell, isn’t talking. Luckily, after Maurice Lenell relocates, their online store will reopen (their website promises sometime in February 2009) and at some point, a retail outlet will open at in the Chicagoland area.

If you have driven past the old, run-down Norridge theatres this past year, you’ve probably noticed that the lower 5 listings on their gargantuan sign have been painted over and only 5 movies are listed at the top. That’s because a Vernon Hills real estate company purchased the theatre and the cookie factory in order to put up a Costco or Wal-Mart. Because Norridge is too pretty, Harlem Avenue too deserted and there aren’t nearly enough strip malls and retail outlets, goodness knows! Costco may be a decent place to shop, I’ve never been there, but really, do we need another Wal-Mart? Another giant retail space? More traffic? The HIP purchased the bank just to the north and their adjacent parking lot, which means they’ll be adding more stores as well.

Maurice Lenell had two cookies I loved: Pinwheels and Jelly Stars. Honestly, most of their cookies tasted pretty much the same, but they were a staple during snacktime and parties at school. My mother’s old boss used to give them as gifts. They were the ultimate dipping cookies; you could dunk away and it wouldn’t break apart or turn mushy like so many other brands. The Norridge factory has been there since 1937; it was a fixture of the neighborhood and Chicago itself, like Brachs, Frango, and Marshall Field’s were.

I’ll always remember the places that have given me so many good memories: the old-fashioned theatre where I saw some of my first movies, including the first I saw all by myself (for $4.25 or less!), while on my first date, and with my girlfriend after walking over to Maurice Lenell for free samples and a box of Pinwheels to share. We needed something tasty to sneak into the movies.

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