PRINTERS ROW — Cafe Deko has brought its Victorian flair — and more breakfast options — to the South Loop.
Cafe Deko’s new outpost has been open about a month at 715 S. Dearborn St. Owner George Liapis said he felt ready for the expansion after opening the first Cafe Deko four years ago in Lincoln Park.
While Cake Deko regulars can enjoy the same pour-over-style coffee and ornate decor they’d find at the North Side location, the Printers Row location has a larger dining area and the addition of breakfast sandwiches to the menu.
The chipotle sausage croissant — with sausage, egg, gouda and chipotle mayo on a flaky croissant ($12.50) — has become a hit with customers, a welcome surprise to Liapis and his team, he said.
There’s also the pesto bacon biscuit ($12.50), which comes with egg, mozzarella and mayo pesto. All sandwiches come with a side of fruit.
For those who prefer their meals in liquid form, there are smoothies: strawberry walnut, blueberry cashew and mango pistachio ($8.50).
Liapis runs both locations with his partner, Karol Fallas, and his cousin, Antonis Liapis.
Fallas, originally from Costa Rica, was in Chicago visiting a friend when she met George Liapis as he worked behind the counter at the Lincoln Park cafe. As she ordered her coffee from Fallas, he asked her why she didn’t want to use loyalty points offered by the cafe.
“I told him, ‘Because I’m not from here.’ And then he asked, ‘Where are you from?’ That’s how it started,” Fallas said.
That casual conversation led to romance. Now, a year and a half into their marriage, they’re still learning how to maintain the balance, but Fallas said the couple is making it work.
“It can be challenging because sometimes you may differ on how you do things, but it’s fine, we’ll learn,” she said.
Antonis Liapis was a math teacher in Greece when George Liapis told him of his plan to open another cafe and asked if he’d be willing to join the team. Antonis Liapis said he was “thrilled to do it.”
“The people here are very nice, very kind. I love the city. I love the vibe. I love architecture. I hate the winter,” he joked.
The trio were hands-on during the buildout of the Printers Row outpost. Konstantinos Loupis, a conceptual artist and designer based in Greece, lent his expertise, as he did with the original location. This time, he helped the team realize their vision of a dining room right out of an Oscar Wilde novel.
Chandeliers hang from high ceilings, filling the space with light. Floral wallpaper and gold-trimmed mirrors line the cafe’s walls. Fallas beamed with pride as she described how she painted each frame by hand.
Loupis was unable to fly in to survey the work in person, but he was always a Zoom call away, Fallas said.
It took eight months to transform the space, said George Liapis. They wanted the cafe to fit in with the cobblestone streets and old-world feel of the corridor.
“The first location [Loupis] did was art deco-inspired, which is reflected in the name of the cafe,” said George Liapis. “This space is Victorian-style inspired, which we wanted because of the style of the building we’re in.”
George Liapis said any worries about getting customers in the door dissipated the first week as a steady stream of visitors — some finding the cafe via Instagram — stopped by. Some wandered in from the C2E2 convention at McCormick Place in full cosplay, he said.
Liapis isn’t ruling out the possibility of opening another location, but for now he said he and his team are savoring the South Loop location’s success.
