Downtown office workers looking to upgrade their morning coffee run now have a new detour. Seedo's Levantine Bakery, a Palestinian American spot that first popped up inside Sterling Food Hall, has stepped out into its own brick-and-mortar storefront in the Loop near Wells and Madison. On the menu are pistachio-filled croissants, basbousa coffee cake, and other breakfast-and-lunch staples that owner Mutaz Abdullah tweaks with family recipes and French American pastry techniques so they feel both familiar and a bit surprising.
According to WTTW, Abdullah launched Seedo's out of the Sterling Food Hall production kitchen and leans on a serious restaurant pedigree: his father opened Cedars Mediterranean Kitchen, and his grandfather ran a bakery. The outlet notes that Abdullah worked with a baker to build out the menu and that the decision to plant a flag downtown came out of a post-pandemic rethink of how to feed Loop crowds that are slowly returning.
"We can take something that everyone's familiar with, like a croissant, and turn it into a pistachio orange blossom croissant," Abdullah told CBS Chicago. In the same interview, he explained that he wants to "humanize the Palestinian people" amid the conflict in Gaza and the West Bank, and that intention shows up in both the savory and sweet sides of the pastry case. The station frames Seedo's as a bakery that doubles as a personal and cultural project.
Menu highlights
The menu focuses on Levantine flavors tucked into easy-to-grab treats: pistachio and za'atar croissants, a basbousa coffee cake, sticky date cake, and taboon-bread "sandweeshes" layered with pasterma or harissa-roasted vegetables. Seedo's lists these items, along with seasonal rotations and gluten-free options. Many of the bakery's signature pastries are baked on site before they make their way to the Loop counter.
From pop-up to storefront
Seedo's first appeared as a vendor inside Sterling Food Hall, joining the lineup as a newer concept in 2025. Local reviewers quickly zeroed in on the za'atar croissant and lemon-olive oil cake. Chicago Magazine praised several of the bakery's pastries, and Chicago Food Magazine covered Seedo's arrival at the food hall. The move into a standalone storefront near Wells and Madison reflects growing demand for fresher, more varied quick-serve choices in the area.
What to know before you go
Seedo's continues to run its stall at Sterling Food Hall while the new Loop shop caters to morning and lunchtime traffic. The bakery posts weekday hours and notes that some items sell out during the lunch rush. On Seedo's, customers can also find catering options and a rotating pastry selection available for preorder. For downtown regulars, the bakery has become a convenient way to squeeze in Palestinian flavors between meetings.
For Abdullah, the business marks a return to family food traditions and a pivot from tech into hospitality, giving him a chance to adapt his grandfather's recipes for a new audience. As foot traffic in the Loop edges back, Seedo's plans to keep baking, offering grab-and-go standbys that carry a taste of the Levant in every bite.
