Earwax Cafe To Reopen: Wicker Park Diner Returning With Revamped Menu

Wicker Parkers, vegan diners and brunch-lovers citywide were disheartened when Milwaukee Avenue's Earwax Cafe announced that it would be shuttering its doors after 21 years last month.

The restaurant cited financial problems for its closure, but apparently those problems weren't that bad: less than three weeks later, the cafe has announced on Facebook that it will be back in business soon.

"Due to popular demand Earwax will re-open after a menu overhaul and cleaning tomorrow," it wrote on Thursday afternoon. "You guys have convinced us to re-open, despite some difficulties, and to stick with the tried and true concept of the cafe."

Eater Chicago has more on the story: apparently Kurt Guzowski, formerly of Landmark Grill, is taking charge, revamping the menu with seasonal fruits and veggies while sticking to the vegan-friendly concepts that the cafe's been known for.

Doors will open again at 11 a.m. tomorrow, and the cafe will be open from 11 to 10 p.m. daily. Sunday brunch will run from 9 to 5, and it will be closed on Tuesdays.

Comments

[KevinOConnor]

02:58 AM on 03/30/2011

So Wicker Park isn't getting its second American Apparel?

[montemalone]

05:24 PM on 03/13/2011

thank gawd, it'll keep those patchouli smellin' dorks in knit hats and glasses out of real restaurants.

[dlkillinois]

03:15 PM on 03/12/2011

So did a hipster version of Chef Gordon Ramsey come in and intervene, or something?

[leon999]

05:30 PM on 03/11/2011

BTW: The interior didn't just "look" dirty, Corpulent. Put down the fork for a second and read a newspaper once in a while. You might have saved yourself at least 2 hours waiting in line at this over-rated pseudo-college coffee shop.

[Corpulent]

12:29 PM on 03/11/2011

I feel totally scammed. I waited over 2 hours in line last month because I thought it was the last weekend I would ever get to eat there. I hate sneaks. If they were planning on re-opening in a fort night with a re-vamped menu they should have said that or better yet they could have asked for some customer feedback before they "fixed" Earwax. Because I can tell you, the problem has never been with the food, it has always been with the disinterested slacker waiters who you have to ask 3 times for cream before they remember. And seriously, adding "bacon?" That's just insulting. So Earwax is saying Chicago vegans just aren't profitable enough and that the only way to make money is to serve dead animals? Screw you Earwax. Your service is horrible and your interior looks dirty and is just not welcoming. If you spent as much time talking to your customers as you do coming up with these sneaky marketing gimmicks, you'd know that.

[BlindChance]

02:00 AM on 03/11/2011

There was a jewelry store near my house when I was a kid that did this all the time. It stopped working after a while...

[gemini68]

09:27 AM on 03/11/2011

Well, Earwax Cafe is a landmark here in Chicago so I'm glad to see its re-opened. Hopefully it wasn't a stunt and just a stroke of good fortune.

[ARP2]

06:03 PM on 03/10/2011

Please don't tell me this was a scam. It reminds me of those places that are perpetually going out of business.