Duke Bakery Celebrates 75 Years in Alton
ALTON - Duke Bakery, a full-line retail bakery with a 75-year history in Alton, marked its milestone anniversary at a celebration event at Haskell Park on Wednesday, July 1, 2026, and said the turnout and community response was overwhelming.
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Founded in 1951 by Christ and Helen Doucleff, Duke Bakery has grown across generations while continuing to serve the Riverbend area with bakery items including wedding and specialty cakes, doughnuts, pastries, pies, breads, buns and cookies. Amy Hollis, a third-generation owner, said the anniversary underscored the bakery’s long connection to the community.
“It was a tremendous outpouring; it was wonderful,” Hollis said. “It was an emotional day for all of us.”
Hollis said the bakery’s longevity reflects its ties to customers and the community.
“Duke Bakery has a tremendous amount of pride and respect for our community. We wouldn’t have been here for 75 years without the community. We must be doing something right,” she said.
The bakery was passed to the second generation in 1972, when brothers Michael and Karl Doucleff took over the business. In 1996, after Karl’s retirement, Michael’s daughter, Amy, joined the bakery, followed by her husband, Ben Hollis, in 1999.
Hollis said she is proud of the work being done now by the current leadership.
“Amy Hollis, a third-generation owner, and Ben are doing a fantastic job and the future looks so bright," Michael Doucleff, president of Duke Bakery, said. "I am so proud of the work they are doing."
Amy also described her own experience working behind the counter in the beginning and what it taught her.
“As a third-generation baker and behind the counter, I have a great perspective on customer service and the importance of community," she said. "It is always wonderful to see all the friendly faces."
Duke Bakery has expanded over the years, opening a location in Godfrey in 2002 and a Granite City location in 2006. After the Godfrey location was lost in a fire in 2012, the bakery founded its wholesale division and began supplying local restaurants, bars, grocers, hospitals and convenience stores with some of its most popular items.
In 2020, with the onset of COVID-19, the bakery returned its emphasis to retail operations and community involvement.
Hollis said her family’s history and the example set by earlier generations continue to shape the business.
“I learned a lot from grandma, who passed away when I was young, and my grandpa," she said. "They lived the American dream: they were immigrants who came here for a better life, built something from the ground up through hard work and dedication. Their names were Christ and Helen."
She said her grandfather’s experience during the Great Depression left a lasting mark on him.
“The Great Depression made quite an impact on my grandfather, showing him how the only way to survive is hard work," she explained.
She said one of the biggest lessons she learned from her predecessors was the importance of customer relationships.
“It is so important to always work hard, and the biggest impact my grandfather had was not just doing work, but talking to the people and customers and showing them appreciation daily,” she said.
Hollis also said her father and husband share that same strength of working with customers.
“Dad is a people person; luckily Ben is too,” she said. “Ben and Dad enjoy people; they never know a stranger.”
The 75th anniversary event also brought together multiple generations of the family, she said.
“My Dad was pretty emotional yesterday; his brothers and family came to town and celebrated. It was neat we were together, four generations here with all my nieces and girls were there,” Amy Hollis said.
She said her father stepped aside during the celebration to let the current generation be recognized.
“He sat back and let me and Ben have the spotlight," she added. "He said the 50th anniversary celebration was the pinnacle of his career and he wanted us to have the spotlight."
Amy Hollis said hearing from longtime customers was one of the most meaningful parts of the event.
“The turnout in the heat, the amount of people who showed up blew me away,” she said. “I absolutely, I love hearing the stories from people. Some are now bringing their kids here. Duke Bakery really is a generational business."
