Expat in Chicago's Fulton Market goes from café by day to bar by night
CHICAGO (CBS) — A new spot in Chicago's Fulton Market District aims to take guests around the world with its concept, which changes from a café by day to a bar by night.
Whether you're craving a mojito in the morning or dinner with a side of bacon, Expat, located at 165 N. Ogden Ave., can do both anytime. However, you like it—all judgments aside.
"Expat is kind of representative of that same vibe that you get from, like, when you're in an airport because all bets are off," Brian Sturguewski said. "You know that it's okay to drink a bloody mary at 10 a.m. You don't have to worry about it.
Sturgulewski is the vice president of hospitality for the Bonhomme Hospitality Group, also behind city spots like Coquette and Beatnik.
"Bonhomme is really built on two pillars of escapism and pleasure. Every concept that we have here in the city is all about transporting people to another place," he said
At Expat, "another place" is encapsulated by their selection of drinks that span the globe.
"Expat, as a concept, is derived from this idea of, like, those famous expat bars from around the world," Sturgulewski said.
He's done extensive research on what drinks originated where, in what bar, and when.
"Like the bloody mary that originated at a bar in France, or the bellini that originated at a bar in Venice. And a variation on a mojito that comes from sloppy joes in Havana," he said.
He adds, "So many of our classics were invented at these bars and then traveled around the globe."
This international array of drinks is paired alongside a menu of flavors crafted to remind patrons of homemade American classics
"What we were looking for people comfortable. Don't overthink what I need to order something that I know what it is. I know I want it; I don't want to think about it anymore," Executive Chef Marcos Campos Sanchez said.
Though when it comes to classic dishes like a BLT or club sandwich, Sanchez always adds a unique twist to to each plate, and what comes to the table may surprise you.
"Like, I think when you come out from a different country and you can actually see a different perspective," he said.
He mentions that he gets some of his influences from Europe.
"When you are in Europe, you are not going to find the same ham, the same turkey, the same bread that you have at home, but you make your version of that is in the country that you're living at that moment."
They want their guests to live in the moment and allow themselves to be transported somewhere else without having to go very far at all.
"Nothing says neighborhood hangout more than like a really well-executed classic that you can count on to be consistent time and again,"
"You close your eyes for a second, and you're like, maybe I'm right here in Chicago ... That is what we're looking for," Sanchez said.
"I think it speaks to the overall concept of, globally inspired, but kind of locally fed, you know," Sturgulewski said.