OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — An Omaha creation and Lithuanian specialty will be featured on many a holiday table this year. Some, sold locally and regionally. Others - purchased through major retailers including QVC.
- The Mackevicius family, which founded Lithuanian Bakery on South 33rd Avenue, partnered with Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary on a Napoleon torte.
- Combine that variety with others, like their vanilla apricot, and they expect to produce - by hand - roughly 4,000 tortes this holiday season.
- Each torte takes about three days to make in part because the layers must meld. "You should be able to slice your torte, top to bottom, and it should stay together for you. It won't crumble and fall apart," Algird Mackevicius said.
Continue reading for the broadcast transcript of this story.
"Well, that was the story. When you get from the Omaha Lithuanians that were here prior to the early 1900s, by 1949, '50, '51, we had an influx of over 300 families," Algird Mackevicius explained.
His family was among them. His parents, Vytautas and Stefanija, would go on to open the Lithuanian Bakery. Still on South 33rd Avenue, what they make today is enjoyed in all 50 states.
During a presentation on QVC, Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary raved about 'a crescendo of flavors. But really, you're blending smooth with the crunch of the filo pastry. 17 layers! It's all about the taste.'
O'Leary is such a believer in the product, he put his name and face on the box. The process to make what's inside takes time.
"It's from scratch, yes," Mackevicius confirmed during the tour.
He said each torte requires three days, in part, because those many layers must sit together.
"They start absorbing themselves within the wafers. And then it becomes one solid torte," he elaborated.
Watching one employee, Salomea, work is symphonic. She has spent 25 of her 82 years at the bakery. And this year, she'll build - by hand - about 1,000 of the 4,000 holiday-time tortes.
The Napoleanas, or Napoleon, is their signature.
"Goes back to the Napoleonic wars that was between the French, of course, and Russia and that Russian campaign with Napoleon Bonaparte," Mackevicius said.
Adding: A few takes on the torte derived from the conflict. In Russia, the topping signified snow during that battle.
At Lithuanian Bakery, those crumbles come from snapped-off wafer bits.
"You should be able to slice your torte, top to bottom, and it should stay together for you. It won't crumble and fall apart," Mackevicius promised.
And, in that, the difference is time. The fact that they take it represents pride in sharing a piece of Lithuania and Omaha.