A jazz singer with a culinary degree has opened a new all-day cafe inside the University of Chicago's arts center, and it is unlike anything else on campus. Lizz Wright and her wife, Monica Haslip, opened The Hunt on September 22 at 915 E. 60th St. in the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts, serving breakfast, bowls, sandwiches and juices while weaving in art, music and a tribute to a late Chicago sculptor.
The cafe builds on the pair's earlier concept, Carver 47 Food & Wellness Market, located at the Little Black Pearl Art & Design Center at 1050 E. 47th St., according to the Chicago Sun-Times. That earlier spot, established in 2017, is named for agricultural scientist, educator and inventor George Washington Carver, who spent 47 years working at Tuskegee. The University of Chicago confirms that Café Logan underwent its transformation this past summer in partnership with Wright and Haslip to build what the school calls a new dining, creative and community gathering experience modeled on Carver 47, according to the University of Chicago.
A Menu Built Around Comfort And Craft
The Hunt offers breakfast, lunch, snacks and grab-and-go items throughout the day. Its all-day breakfast menu features homemade quiche, buttermilk and cheddar scallion biscuits, and a build-your-own breakfast sandwich, the Sun-Times reports. Lunch options include a BBQ jerk salmon burger on a brioche bun and The Sculpture, a sandwich made with blackened chicken thigh, smoked Gouda, pickled red onion, charred red pepper relish and garlic aioli on a brioche bun, named in homage to the cafe's namesake artist.
Vegan diners can order the Bloom “V-ahn Mi,” a vegan bánh mì with fried tofu and pickled vegetables on a baguette. The cafe also pours a Green Glory Juice made from apple, spinach, celery, ginger, lemon and parsley — the same recipe recently added to the offerings at the Obama Presidential Center, per the Sun-Times account. The Obama Center's own cafe separately offers coffee, seasonal pastries, sandwiches and locally sourced entrees spanning meat-based, vegetarian and vegan options, according to the Obama Presidential Center.
Honoring Richard Hunt Through Food And Design
The café was renamed The Hunt to honor the life and legacy of local artist Richard Hunt, the University of Chicago says. The Chicago artist and sculptor, who died in 2023, is remembered throughout the space — Haslip designed custom wallpaper paying tribute to him, and the cafe features artworks and artifacts he collected from around the world. Record players spin selections from Wright and Haslip's own vinyl collection, giving the space a soundtrack alongside its visual tributes, the station's report notes.
Wright told the outlet that she feels Hunt's presence remains fresh in the neighborhood even years after his death. She said she and Haslip named their cafes with respect for the people of Hyde Park and Kenwood, framing the project as something rooted in place rather than imported from elsewhere.
From Choir Loft To Verve Records To The Kitchen
Wright's path to the stove ran through the pulpit and the recording studio. She grew up as the daughter of a pastor in small-town Georgia, began singing in her childhood church choir and eventually became music director of her father's church, per the same account. By 2002 she had signed with Verve Records, and her debut album, Salt, topped Billboard's contemporary jazz charts the following year.
She later turned toward food, graduating from New York's Natural Gourmet Institute in 2009 and honing her craft on 27 acres of farmland in western North Carolina. Wright has described that period as grounding work tied to her upbringing, telling DownBeat, “Growing food has been like a return home, planting with my dad my entire childhood.” She and Haslip first met when Wright performed at Little Black Pearl in 2013; Haslip had previously worked at BET and Johnson Publishing before starting that organization.
Feeding Minds, Not Just Appetites
Wright said the menu is designed to cater to people who are using their minds a lot, aiming to nourish those doing intensive creative work on a university campus. She described seeing parallels between composing music and creating food, and said The Hunt is meant to create dialogue among food, music, art and community. She also said she enjoys the rhythm of running a neighborhood cafe, including getting to know regular customers by name.
The opening arrived during an unusually packed stretch for Wright. Three days after The Hunt opened, she released a new album, Nearness, featuring standards and spirituals recorded with pianist Kenny Banks Sr. Her music has also reached a national audience this year — former President Barack Obama featured her song “Hit the Ground” on his annual summer playlist. Reflecting on the whirlwind of opening a restaurant and dropping an album in the same stretch, Wright told the Sun-Times, “I'm exhausted but so grateful.” The Hunt is open to the public on the University of Chicago campus in Woodlawn.
