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Chris Lardakis knows some folks will be puzzled with the reasoning behind opening a Kanela Breakfast Club at 2127 W. Division St. The new Ukrainian Village location is only about a mile and a half from the Kanela at Milwaukee and Wood in Wicker Park. But Lardakis doesn’t think his new restaurant, scheduled for an early June opening, will steal business from the Wicker Park location he opened less than three years ago.
“I’ve seen a void, there are so many people on Division, so many in Wicker Park, so many in Ukrainian Village,” Lardakis said. “I really feel breakfast was missing in the area.”
It’s the sixth Kanela, which also serves a Greek-inspired menu in Streeterville, Old Town, Lakeview, and Andersonville. The new one will have room for 90 people inside plus a 24-seat patio. Lardakis wants to create a comfy area for laptoppers to post up for an hour and two to do work while grabbing a La Colombe coffee and a pastry.
The pastries are a big change. They will be baked in house. Staff will benefit from the baking equipment left over from A Baker’s Tale, the bakery that occupied the space before Kanela. Lardakis hired a baker who will make key lime, French silk, and vegan pies for all the locations. He also hinted that Greek favorites like cream-filled bougatsa, made with Phyllo dough, will also be available.
Bill and Giuliana Rancic, the celebrities involved in Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises’ RPM restaurants, happen to be Kanela’s new landlords. The star power doesn’t stop there as Kanela’s investment group includes former Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias. The restaurant’s health inspection is on Friday, so stay tuned for news on an opening date.
