The Heartland Cafe was a restaurant in the

Rogers Park Rogers Park is the first of Chicago's 77 community areas. Located from the Loop, it is on the city's far north side on the shore of Lake Michigan. The neighborhood is commonly known for its cultural diversity, lush green public spaces, early ...

neighborhood of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. Originally opened in 1976 by two

activists Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

as the "Sweet Home Chicago Heartland Café," it became a cultural icon for the diverse neighborhood, known as much for its

hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...

ambience and left-leaning politics as for its largely (but not exclusively) vegetarian food.

Political center

Part of a complex of buildings that also contained a theatre studio, an adjoining music venue, and a newsstand and general store within the restaurant itself, the restaurant was routinely referred to as an "institution" and a social and political center of the neighborhood. Politicians ranging from local candidates to

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

held rallies and events at the Heartland creating a long history of political activism and served as a civic forum for Rogers Park and Chicago. A radio show, ''Live from the Heartland'', hosted in-part by the cafe's original founders, Katy Hogan and Michael James, was broadcast live every Saturday on WLUW (88.7FM) from the dining room while customers ate.

Sale

Heartland Cafe's last owner was Tom Rosenfeld, an organic farmer who also operated Earth First Farms in southwest Michigan. Under Rosenfeld's ownership, Heartland was home to a full service natural food grocery store, sit down restaurant and live music venue.

Demise

Plans to sell the building and close the business were announced and the restaurant closed on December 31, 2018. The owners hope to reopen in a new location in the future. A demolition permit for the building was issued on April 15, 2019 and demolition began within a week.

External links

Official website

References

{{coord, 42.0093, -87.6665, type:landmark, display=title Restaurants in Chicago Restaurants established in 1976 1976 establishments in Illinois