May at Will’s Place
The warm weather is finally here; the kids are counting down the days until summer break; our patio is officially open, and we're just five weeks away from our concert. In other words: there's a lot to be excited about around here.
And while we're sharing exciting news, let's start a rumor right now: soft serve is coming to Will's Place. 🍦
Chef Michael's recent trip to Italy brought Will's Place back a plethora of ideas and additions to our menu! Abbondanza, Amici!
Stay tuned, grab a seat on the patio, and get ready for a summer full of good food, good company, and a few delicious surprises.
Employee Spotlight
Meet our guy Bobby!
When Bobby’s on shift, you’ll find him doing what he does best—connecting with people. Whether he’s clearing tables or making sure everyone enjoyed their meal, he takes pride in making the space feel welcoming and cared for. His favorite part of the job is when his family stops by to visit—siblings, cousins, the whole crew. Getting to share his work with the people he loves most is the highlight of his day.
If you ask Bobby what to order, he recommends the fried chicken & ranch wrap. Trust him on that one.
He’s also got a couple of signature lines you might hear if you catch him on a good day:
“Be good.”
“I’ll call ya later.”
And in true Bobby fashion, he wanted us to include one important message: his manager Jeff needs to relax. We’ll let Jeff take that one up with him 🙂 We’re lucky to have Bobby on this team. He’s the real deal.
Fridays are for Community Nights
Our new patio has officially been broken in!
This month, we gathered outside for our favorite night of the week: Friday Community Night. There were songs around the campfire, s'mores, dancing, and plenty of laughter. As anyone who has attended knows, the evening wouldn't be complete without singing, "There's always a smile on your face, right here at Will's Place."
Moments like these remind us that Will's Place is about so much more than sandwiches and coffee. The addition of our back patio isn't just a new place to enjoy lunch—it's another space for connection, celebration, and community. As we continue to grow, we're excited to create even more opportunities for our team, their families, friends, and neighbors to gather together.
Here's to many more campfires, conversations, and memories made on the patio.
On the Menu
One thing to know about Will's Place is that we are always changing our menu, playing with ingredients and making it so that it highlights the best of the season. We just added so many new tasty things to our menu: a summery take on a Chicken parm, our Caprese and Co sandwich on our freshly baked focaccia, a ridiculously good Italian Beef, piled high, dripping with flavor, topped with roasted sweet peppers and our house-made giardiniera, a bright, flavor-packed panzanella salad, the list goes on and on.
Things are never boring for our staff or our patrons. That's the goal. Come try out some of our new offerings soon!
and did you see that part where we mentioned we are getting soft serve? Stay tuned for more info on that becuase our whole team is VERY excited about this one.
A Month with Lots to Celebrate
This month gave us plenty of reasons to celebrate! We kicked things off by celebrating Team Member Alec's graduation from his Culinary Arts program. Next, we headed to Niles West High School to cheer on our friend Sean DeFelice, who was honored as Niles West's Teacher of the Year.
Then came the birthdays—most importantly, Will's birthday! To celebrate, we gave away free cookies with every sandwich purchase. Julia baked her heart out making this special cake for Will. The festivities were made even sweeter when Will's birthday buddy, Adrian Batista, stopped by to join the fun.
This Month's Guest Baristas
The wonderful Baristas keep coming! This month, the team at Will's Place was happy to welcome Team Deanna with Paula Messbarger, Dave Connolly and Megan O'Toole. Erika Block and her family gave it their all in the cookie department! We also welcomed Gigi and Tessa joining the cookie brigade. Thank you Erika, Marjorie Filice and Julie Dakers for sharing your time and your kids! Everybody had fun! Thank you also to two amazing educators for coming in and joining the fun, Elizabeth Mourtokokis, Principal at Northside Learning Center and Dr. Patti Stuber, Principal at Northside College Prep.
Interested in joining our crew as a guest barista?
Send us an email at willsplaceskokie@gmail.com
Did you get your concert Tickets yet??
We’re so excited to be back for our 2nd Annual Concert for Will’s Place—a night filled with incredible music, joy, and community. Tickets are live and this is a room you are going to want to be in.
Join us at the Skokie Theatre for an unforgettable evening featuring an amazing lineup of talented musicians who are generously sharing their time and artistry in support of our mission.
Event Lineup:
The Empty Pockets (Billboard’s #1 Blues Artists)
Lynne Jordan
Joanna Connor
Deanna Hallagan
Chad the Bird
Hosted by Chicago radio legend Steve Cochran
We can’t wait to gather together, celebrate, and fill the room with energy, connection, and really great music!