Restaurant of the Week: Fort Jesse Cafe | Local Business
4 min readEditor’s note: This is a weekly Pantagraph series featuring local restaurants and bars. Know someone we should talk to? Email Olivia Jacobs at [email protected].
NORMAL — This week’s pick for Restaurant of the Week is Fort Jesse Cafe, 1531 Fort Jesse Road, No. 1, in Normal.
The café is owned by Abby Strader Boesenberg and Nick Birky. They have been open for about six years, since Nov. 17, 2015.
“It’s wonderful to watch our guests through the different phases of their lives. We see them graduate, retire, start a new career and have their first child or grandchild,” Boesenberg said. “The same goes for our team members; a lot of them have worked for us for years and we watch them grow up in this restaurant. It’s very fulfilling.”
Though the café has plenty of options for great food, their signature dishes include chicken and waffle, shrimp and grits and BBQ Benedict. My personal favorite is the pancake breakfast, which comes with two pancakes, whipped butter, powdered sugar and maple syrup — a true stack of fluffy deliciousness.
The café also has gluten-free items, including shrimp and grits, cornmeal pancakes, jalapeno cornbread muffins and skillets. And, they run a variety of specials Monday through Thursday.
“We strive to have quality ingredients for every menu item. Then we pair that with a little creativity, a little fun and an uplifting environment,” Boesenberg said. “Our team members are awesome, too. They are the major reason people keep coming back.”
Fort Jesse Cafe, 1531 Fort Jesse Road #1 in Normal
Boesenberg and Birky started Community Tuesdays a few months ago. For every cold brew they sell, they donate $1 to the Organization of the Day, which can include nonprofits, sports teams, PTO’s, clubs and more.
“It’s another way we can give back to our community and publicize organizations around town,” Boesenberg said. The café also does Brunchtoberfest every year with Keg Grove Brewing Co., which Boesenberg describes as “the best wurst brunch beer party in Central Illinois.”
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She added, “There are a lot of great spots in BloNo and we’re happy to be a part of the restaurant landscape. I think what sets us apart is that we encourage individuality of our team members. We want them to be themselves when they’re here. If they’re happy, they will inevitably make the guests happy. That, and we put gravy on like everything.”
Fort Jesse Cafe is open 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday through Sunday. They offer indoor dining, reservations, online ordering and curbside carry-out. Delivery is available through DoorDash.
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