Buzz Cafe

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East of Lombard: EastGate Café and Gifts

By Alexandra Zika

In the last year there has been a boom in the restaurant industry of the Oak Park Arts District. Opening in June of 2008, the newest addition to the neighborhood is East Gate Café and Gifts at 102 Harrison Street. In contrast to the art clad walls and table service of Buzz Café or the white table clothes and candles of Trattorria 224, there is the quiet and cozy EastGate Café. And they’re offering more than just coffee and lunch, they’re also a bookstore and boutique, bringing something truly unique to the district.

Husband and wife Pat and Olya Dailey worked on their vision of opening EastGate Café and Gifts for two years before it became a reality. Unlike many of the business owners in the area who may have looked into other neighborhoods before deciding on Harrison Street, Pat and Olya were inspired by the neighborhood itself. They have been residents of the Oak Park Arts District for the last eight years and in watching the neighborhood grow and develop had the idea of opening a restaurant of their own. “We saw the space and thought, wouldn’t this be a great spot for a gift shop or a café? Then we thought, why not?”

Though this is the couple’s first venture into restaurant ownership Pat has been in the industry for thirty years. He grew up in a small town south of Joliet and was a carpenter by trade. He then decided to try going into real estate. “That was a big mistake,” Pat says. So he moved to Chicago looking for a new job. He had some bartending experience but when he got a job tending bar on Rush Street he was infected with the restaurant bug. “I stayed and then it just evolved. I became a manager, and now an owner.”

Before opening EastGate Pat worked at Panara Bread Company and has carried their serving style to EastGate. All their service is from the counter, which Pat points out, distinguishes EastGate from Buzz Café’s table service dining room. He and his wife wrote the menu, which features six salads, including their Avocado Pontchartrain (mixed greens, avocado, egg wedges, shrimp, and honey mustard dressing), and a Mediterranean Salad with French Cheese (mixed greens and lettuce with swiss cheese, roasted peppers, tomatoes, salami with blue cheese dressing), five sandwiches, including a marinated chicken breast sandwich, tuna, and a vegetarian selection. Their two house soups are Maine Lobster Bisque (which is rich, creamy, and addictive!), and Cream of Spinach and Feta. They offer a daily special, pastries, and a full coffee and espresso menu. Pat plans to change their menu seasonally, but will also make adjustments based on what his guests most frequently request.

A unique feature of East Gate Café is their homemade fresh fruit smoothies. They offer mango, strawberry-banana, green apple, acai-pomegranite, and pina colada. Their drip coffee and their espresso is popular favorite, LaVazza. “People like it,” Pat says, “I didn’t realize it was such a popular coffee.” But regardless of the quality of the bean or the particular roast Pat feels the most important thing is to make sure the coffee he sells is as fresh as possible.

Though the café dominates the majority of their business it’s worth stopping into East Gate Café and Gifts just to check out the boutique. They offer a diverse array of gifts, many of which are food related. “That’s all Olya,” Pat says, but together the pair search the country and the world in order to find unique merchandise for their store. “We have chocolate from Croatia, jams from Germany, jellies from Africa,” says Pat. They pride themselves on offering merchandise you can’t find at department stores, “if you can find it there we don’t want it. If you can find it at Whole Foods, we don’t want it. We only want to carry merchandise that you really have to search for.” They carry gifts from around the country, around the world, and popcorn from right next door. In addition to food items, they carry journals, cards, and a wide variety of books. “We want to complement the other businesses in the neighborhood. For example, if Karen (of Careful Peach) carries a product, then we won’t.”

Despite having only opened a few months ago EastGate is already becoming a popular meeting spot, “Just about every day I have somebody come in and ask about having a meeting here, because it’s a quiet and relaxing spot,” Pat tells me. The only night that isn’t quiet is Thursday—that’s when the ukulele players from WonderWall come in and use EastGate as a practice space.

And Pat already has a slew of regulars. As we spoke, a young man from the neighborhood came in for his daily afternoon coffee. He joked with Pat, “Don’t get up, I know where the cups are!” and then poured his own coffee and sat down with us for a quick chat about Pat’s prices—and how should raise them. But Pat doesn’t seem concerned with the price of his coffee. He’s just interested in creating another unique and interesting gathering place in his neighborhood.

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