Cafe Con Leche has been slinging Latin breakfast burritos and traditional Mexican fare from the same stretch of Milwaukee Avenue for 25 years, and Logan Square is throwing the family-run restaurant a party for it. The anniversary celebration is set for 4 to 8 p.m. Sunday at the restaurant, with live music, free coffee and appetizers marking a quarter-century that began with just five tables seating 10 people.
Owner Esam Hani opened the spot in 2001, years after he first put down roots on the block with Red Star Liquor and Deli at 2725 N. Milwaukee Ave. in the late 1990s, according to Block Club Chicago. What started as a small counter operation at 2714 N. Milwaukee Ave. eventually grew into two rooms with a bar and a patio, a transformation that mirrors the broader arc of Hani's now decade-spanning presence on the corridor. Hani has described the company's expansion simply as growing one door at a time, per the same account.
Longtime Staff Behind the Longevity
Hani credits his longtime staff with keeping Cafe Con Leche running for 25 years, saying his team makes the restaurant feel effortless. Manolo Hermosillo, who is from Mexico, has worked at the restaurant since its beginning, starting as a dishwasher before moving into his current role in kitchen prep and cooking. Ellie Rico, now director of operations for Hani's company, started at Cafe Con Leche 12 years ago and has since helped Hani open new restaurants across the neighborhood.
Hani has said he retains staff by taking constructive criticism from them and learning from it, and he's noted that both loyal regulars and new customers keep coming through the door. The restaurant's cultural pull extends to major community moments — in September 2024, Cafe Con Leche prepared for an estimated 30% jump in business during Mexican Independence Day celebrations by rolling out red, white and green specialty margaritas, according to CBS News.
An Evolving Milwaukee Avenue Footprint
Cafe Con Leche now operates under Hani's One of a Kind Hospitality group, which spans 10 spots along Milwaukee Avenue, including The Harding Tavern at 2732 N. Milwaukee Ave., Mr. E's at 2704 N. Milwaukee Ave., and La Victoria at 2447 N. Milwaukee Ave. The company also co-owns Mucho Gusto at 2700 N. Milwaukee Ave. Hani has closed or changed two concepts over the years because they were losing money, part of a strategy of re-concepting underperforming storefronts while leaning on legacy anchors for steady cash flow.
That reshuffling is visible right now. The group currently has four empty storefronts, and Hani plans to open all of them within the year. Saba Italian Bar + Kitchen, one of Hani's major dining ventures launched in 2018 at 2715 N. Milwaukee Ave., permanently closed on March 7 after eight years in business — a closure Daily Job Cuts tied to the broader shakeup across Hani's portfolio. Hoodline reported on Saba's 2018 debut, and the space is now undergoing kitchen and dining room renovations to reopen as a more casual Italian restaurant focused on pasta and pizza, with a smaller menu than its predecessor.
A Taqueria, a Speakeasy and Hani's First Avondale Spot
Hani is also preparing to open a taqueria in the former Furious Spoon location at 2410 N. Milwaukee Ave., while the connected spaces that once housed Pink Squirrel and Deadbolt at 2414 N. Milwaukee Ave. are being converted into a cozy speakeasy cocktail lounge. Hoodline covered Pink Squirrel's 2018 opening in that same storefront years before Hani's group acquired it. Municipal filings show One of a Kind Hospitality submitted a liquor license application under the name Sixth Room Spirits for the address in September 2025, according to WhatNow Chicago.
Hani is targeting a late-summer opening for both the taqueria and the cocktail lounge, though the projects are still moving through inspections and licensing. Nearby, The Walk-In — the craft beer and cocktail lounge tucked behind a literal walk-in cooler door inside Red Star Liquor — is undergoing remodeling and should reopen sometime this month. Beyond Milwaukee Avenue, Hani is preparing to open his first restaurant in Avondale, extending his footprint beyond the corridor that made his name.
A Neighborhood Transformed Around a Longtime Staple
Cafe Con Leche's 25 years on the block have unfolded alongside a dramatic shift in who lives around it. Logan Square's Latino population fell from 65% in 2000 to 35% in 2020, even as the non-Hispanic white population grew substantially, according to Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning data cited by the newsletter Pencilling Out. The neighborhood's overall population also declined by 13.9% between 2000 and 2022, a steeper drop than the 6% citywide population loss Chicago saw over roughly the same period.
Against that backdrop, Cafe Con Leche's survival as a Latin dining staple stands out as a case of a family business holding its ground through a changing customer base and a changing block. The restaurant's evening concept, once known as D'Noche, was rebranded in 2016 as De Noche Mexicana, with artwork curated by local gallery Beauty & Brawn and a graffiti mural by artist Angel Pagan Rome, according to Food & Beverage Magazine. That kind of local arts integration has been a hallmark of Hani's ventures over the years, even as storefronts around Cafe Con Leche keep changing hands and concepts.
For now, the focus is on Sunday's celebration, where longtime regulars and newer neighbors alike are expected to gather for free coffee, appetizers and live music. It's a rare pause for a restaurant group that, by its owner's own account, keeps growing one door at a time.
