Buttermilk Cafe ‘not the average breakfast place’

GENEVA – Pete Kostopoulos and Spiro Kouvelis believe that fresh buttermilk biscuits are the perfect way to start the day.

Buttermilk biscuits are just one of the items on the menu at the new Buttermilk Cafe, located at 7 W. State St. in downtown Geneva. Kostopoulos and Kouvelis own the restaurant, which serves breakfast and lunch. Buttermilk Cafe opened its doors to the public March 30.

Kostopoulos and Kouvelis went through a lot of trial and error to come up with the perfect recipe for buttermilk biscuits.

“It was a lot of buttermilk and a lot of stomach aches,” Kostopoulos said. “Between our buttermilk pancakes and buttermilk biscuits, we know we have the recipe down pat.”

Kostopoulos and Kouvelis have a wealth of experience in the restaurant business. They have been business partners for 15 years, and own another restaurant in Crest Hill.

Buttermilk Cafe also features a full-service specialty coffee bar where one can order any number of beverages, such as a mocha coconut or cinnamon spice latte.

“We’re really excited about the machine that we’ve purchased,” Kostopoulos said. “It is a fully automated machine, from frothing and steaming the milk to calculating the weights. I am only one of two establishments in Illinois that actually have this. It is the Bentley of espresso machines.”

The machine also will remember what you’ve ordered, he said.

“If you come in and you order any specialty coffee beverage and you liked it, the next time you come in, it will be exactly the same,” Kostopoulos said. “That’s how sophisticated this machine is.”

Buttermilk Cafe offers a full breakfast menu, including omelets, pancakes, waffles, crepes, skillets, French toast and eggs Benedict prepared in a variety of ways.

“We wanted to cater to all needs, from basic breakfast to the higher sophisticated palate,” Kostopoulos said. “My business partner and I are both self-proclaimed foodies. We put together fusion flavors. For instance, our Benedict dishes – every single one is authentically made on a different bread and hollandaise sauce. Our steak Benedict is served on a french bread and it has a herbed bearnaise sauce. We’re definitely unique. We’re not the average breakfast place.”

The lunch menu features Angus beef burgers, sandwiches and salads. Everything on the menu is made from scratch, he said.

“I don’t even have a walk-in freezer,” Kostopoulos said. “All I have is a two-door freezer where I store some frozen products, such as french fries. That’s how much I believe in the product being fresh.”

The building’s location near the Fox River is ideal for Buttermilk Cafe, Kostopoulos said.

“When you dine, and you look outside the window, you actually can see the river and you see bicyclists,” he said.

The plan is to expand the Buttermilk Cafe concept and open additional restaurants, Kostopoulos said. They are eying the northwest suburbs next, such as the Schaumburg area.

“We are just looking to make this a well-oiled machine before we move on,” Kostopoulos said.

Buttermilk Cafe is open from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Mondays through Sundays. Information is available by calling the restaurant at 630-845-0820 or by visiting Buttermilk Cafe's website, www.buttermilkgeneva.com