Popular Breakfast Restaurant Opens Next Week In Wilmette

WILMETTE, IL — Popular breakfast restaurant Egg Harbor Cafe is set to open in Wilmette next week, enhancing the mixed-use appeal of the luxury Optima Verdana Apartments.

Egg Harbor Cafe is a family-owned company founded in Hinsdale, and it strives to provide customers with the highest quality ingredients. The 4,100-square-foot restaurant will have space to seat 140 people and is located directly across from Wilmette's Metra station.

This is the company's second Egg Harbor within an Optima community, joining its Streeterville location that opened in 2019 at Optima Signature.

"After the incredible response to our Streeterville location at Optima Signature, expanding to downtown Wilmette at Optima Verdana felt like a natural next step,” said Graham Hallen, head of brand growth at Egg Harbor. “The opportunity to open in such a desirable location with exceptional visibility positions Egg Harbor Cafe Wilmette to serve residents and the broader community for a long time."

Optima Verdana opened in Wilmette in 2023 and is currently fully leased. The owners are optimistic that the built-in foot traffic from residents and its proximity to other downtown retailers will spell success for the restaurant.

With Optima's future plans to open a new 128-unit luxury residential building just south of Optima Verdana, Egg Harbor is poised to gain even more customers, officials said. Known as Optima Lumina, the project will replace the long-vacant Imperial Motors car dealership.

“Welcoming Egg Harbor first to Streeterville and now to Wilmette reflects Optima’s strategy of attracting commercial tenants that align with the lifestyles and daily needs of our residents,” said David Hovey Jr., AIA, president of Optima, Inc.