Neha and Matt Myers, co-owners of Cocoa Notes Bakeshop, recently purchased the historic Wiant House in West Chicago, and intend to open a brick-and-mortar bakery at that location. 

Wiant House, built in 1869, is a 150-year-old building in West Chicago. Joel Wiant, the original owner, was a merchant who also served DuPage County Treasurer. After he retired, he built the home. The first city attorney, John Leedle, also lived in the house, but the name “Wiant House” has remained.

The structure is important, historically, because it was built in the Second Empire style, uncommon in DuPage County.

This building in downtown West Chicago is now turning into a bakery, a process that will take approximately two years.

“The location is so convenient so I look forward to a lot of customers and a large positive impact in the community,” said Neela Myers, the daughter of the owners and a junior at West Chicago Community High School.

Neha Myers, the chef behind Cocoa Notes, a home-based catering company that has been around since February 2013. 

Neha explained that although the couple originally looked at locations in Winfield, IL, they eventually settled their sights on Wiant House, and wanted to make this home into an operation for their bakeshop. 

The original plan for the Cocoa Notes Bakeshop was to set up shop near a children’s hospital. The Myers family wanted children who came home from the hospital to celebrate and eat at their place, but also hoped to offer exhausted families a chance to eat their pastries and recharge. 

Although the grand opening of the bakery is not expected until sometime next year, Cocoa Notes is already testing recipes and promoting the new location. The interior of the house currently looks beat up and destroyed, but should be remodeled soon.

“We saw the house. It’s beautiful. It’s a place that really stands out to the community, and it’s just very inviting,” said Matt.

Already, Cocoa Notes has positive reviews. Their customers are, according to Facebook, satisfied with the baking coming out of their home-based production. Neha and Matt have added to and even saved customers’ birthdays and weddings, and left customers hungry for more. Cocoa Notes provides daily uploads on their website to offer customers a glimpse at the products being developed.

“I’m very excited about the bakeshop and also super proud of my parents, especially my mom because this has been her dream for as long as I can remember. I organized our current recipes into seasons when we could use them, and my mom and I have baked together since I was little, so I share her love of baking and I will work in the bakeshop as much as possible,” said Neela.

In purchasing Wiant House, the Myers family may be hoping the bakery can serve as a quick stop for students to come by grab a snack and work after school.

“Our intention is to serve the community, but primarily serve the kids here at West Chicago. Food is central to entertaining, and we’ve gotten to know their friends not just names and faces but we’re invested in the and we’ve had so much fun doing that at home and getting to know all these kids,” said Neha.

Neha and Matt recently achieved the Certificate of Appropriateness from the City of West Chicago). With this, they are able to turn Wiant House into a commercial facility. As for construction, they are thinking of adding the bathroom near the entrance, and want to lift up the basement so chefs are able to bring goods between floors with ease. Eventually, they intend to redecorate, making the whole house inviting and comfortable for customers.

The goal is for Cocoa Notes to become a must-stop in West Chicago, and to grow the catering side of the business as well.

“We’d love to cater for the West Chicago High School, for teacher events, for open houses,” said Matt.