EAST PEORIA, Ill. — Alice Anthony isn't letting the downturn get her down. With cutbacks and layoffs a daily recessional hymn, she continues to build her business.

Anthony started baking pita chips in 2004, packing them in Ziplock bags for distribution in a few local stores.

Today, Aleece's Pita Chips, packaged in a white bag stamped with a bright red Aleece's (her name in Lebanese), are distributed in more than 100 locations, soon to include 16 area Kroger stores.

"Everyone's downsizing and we're moving on and growing. I feel very fortunate," said the 65-year-old East Peorian. "I'm not intimidated about a down economy. Where there's a will, there's a way."

Establishing a healthy snack business was never part of the plan for Anthony, who helped her husband run Anthony's Tap, a small bar that served food across from Caterpillar Inc. in East Peoria. But Caterpillar closed the factory across the street from the tavern and, in 1988, her husband died.

"When my husband died, I had six children - four in college. It wasn't easy. My father helped me with the bar and I got into planning weddings and catering," she said.

One of the menu items that drew attention from catering customers was a traditional Lebanese snack: Pita chips - thinly cut slices of pita bread that Anthony baked with a special blend of herbs and seasonings. Containing no saturated fat or cholesterol, the snack might catch on in today's health-conscious market, she decided.

Producing, packaging and marketing a snack food in a world dominated by multinational corporations might intimidate some people, but not Anthony.

"I like to be busy," she said. "I wasn't going just to sit home and say I couldn't do this. Of course, I couldn't do it alone," she said, acknowledging the contributions of her close-knit family.

"My right-hand man, my 88-year-old father, Assaf Trad, is always helping me. Every morning I pick him up and off we go. If we are not making pita chips, we pack them or deliver them to stores," said Anthony, who credits local stores like Lindy's in Washington as well as Alwan and Sonsand Cedars Bakery in Peoria, for helping her get started.

"(Local grocery stores) knew I had a good product. They helped me get it off the ground by putting it on their store shelves," she said.

Once she got her foot in the door, Anthony said she learned along the way. "I found out packaging is very important. You can have the best product in the world, but if people don't pick it up, it doesn't matter," she said.

Anthony also noticed something else: "There's a lot of competition out there," she said.

But that only added to the challenge, said Anthony. "We traveled a long, rough road but it has taken us many places," she said.

Anthony now makes six flavors of pita chips: white, wheat, sugar-and-spice, hot-and-spicy, hearty herb and a variety pack. The chips can be found in supermarkets, specialty stores and gift shops across the state as well as in Peoria-area restaurants and hotels.

With her business now producing as many as 6,000 packages of chips a week from the Anthony's Tap location - most distributed in Illinois but some in Iowa and Missouri - she's looking to establish a factory.

"We're going to have to expand production. Eventually we'll have to make a change. I hope to stay in East Peoria," she said.

Anthony still has new worlds to conquer when it comes to pita chips. "I'm hoping to get into the schools. It would be a healthy snack for the young," she said.

Anthony also hopes her business success might inspire others.

"I would like to pass a message to women who think their world is over. I would suggest taking a good look at yourself. Start a list of things you could do and what you enjoy doing. Don't try to reinvent the wheel," she said.