Dolci Amori, an Italian bakery owned by Ciro Longobardo (who’s also a co-owner of the Italian restaurant Piccolo Sogno in the Fulton River District) has been a work in progress for more than two years. First the pandemic hit. Then the pastry chef couldn’t immigrate from Naples to Chicago because the borders were closed. Then there was a long wait for equipment and inspections. Then Longobardo had a stroke. And then his mother died.

After this long string of catastrophes, Dolci Amori is finally ready to open not one, but two cafes in mid-June, first in Wicker Park and then in Lakeview. “Mama mia!” Longobardo exclaims. “It’s the end of the tunnel!”