The 13th La Grange Restaurant Week will take place February 22 – March 3

Soon, cheesecake addicts will be able to get three slices for the price of two, at least for as long as 2024 La Grange Restaurant Week continues.

Located at 15 W. Harris Boulevard in the heart of downtown La Grange, Chad’s Cheesecake is the presenting sponsor of this year’s Restaurant Week, doing its part to attract customers to La Grange’s restaurant scene by offering two slices for the price of one. , discounted annual membership and 10% off any cheesecake or party platter.

Chad’s sits in the space that once housed Aracely’s Bakery, and when it closed in 2021, Chad and Becky Newell took over the space and immediately began renovating it.

“I was hired as the new La Grange Farmers Market manager from the La Grange Business Association,” Becky said. “I was talking to the manager at the LGBA meeting and he was talking about needing a sponsor for Restaurant Week. And I was a big part of that, too. “I thought it was a great way to get our name out to the La Grange community where I am.”

Restaurant Week, an LGBA event, will run from February 22 to March 3, and Chad will not only be the presenting sponsor but also a new exhibitor.

This year’s event is the thirteenth of what has become a winter tradition in La Grange and marks the end of the usual slow post-holiday period. Visitors to the city center can benefit from the food specialties of 27 different facilities.

While many familiar restaurants in La Grange are returning, including Palmer Place, GP Italiano and Kama Bistro, many new venues are also joining the celebration.

In addition to Chad’s, new this year includes WOOW Sushi, MAK’s House and Marco’s Kitchen, which earned the DiRona Honor Award for Excellence as one of North America’s Distinguished Restaurants.

Although most of this year’s exhibitors are in the downtown business district, some, like Brother’s Mexican Grill at 1014 S. La Grange Road, provide an incentive to venture outside the business district, which has become one of suburban Cook’s denser downtown areas. District.

Becky Newell explained how she and her husband, Chad, got into the business of making premium cheesecakes.

“Chad always made cheesecake, he had a really good recipe and he made it for a lot of family and friends over the years,” she said. “It started in 1998 and my dad always loved his cheesecake.”

When Becky’s father fell ill and passed away in 2016, they discovered an old Facebook post in which he talked about an upcoming party; “Don’t forget the cheesecake…it’s the best,” she urged them in this post.

“This became our motto,” he said.

Initially, in honor of her father, Becky decided to sell the cheesecake from Maison jars, working out of their home and donating $1 from each sale to the Lung Cancer Alliance.

The Newells continue their tradition of giving to this day, donating all of their proceeds to the Alliance on his father’s birthday and the day he died.

“It got really popular, then I started selling to a few restaurants, then I went to grocery stores… and it grew and it got popular,” Becky said.

LGBA Executive Director Cathy Domanico spoke about the importance of Restaurant Week for the downtown area.

“La Grange has evolved into a dining destination,” he said. “People will be able to try unique menus from Marco’s Kitchen, Kama Bistro, Elm, Steak and Vine and more,” he said.

He praised Marco’s Kitchen’s latest award, emphasizing that Marco Conte and his team did “a great job during COVID,” noting that the kitchen opened in April 2020, at the height of the uncertainty of the pandemic.

Domanico encouraged his customers to grab a slice of cheesecake at Chad’s after dinner.

You can find a full list of participating restaurants and their specials on the La Grange Business Association’s website. lgba.com.

Hank Beckman is a freelance reporter for the Pioneer Press.