Breaking Bread settles in new location at downtown Crystal Lake train station

Smells of coffee and breakfast sandwiches fill the train station in downtown Crystal Lake as the deli, Breaking Bread, serves a full menu of sandwiches, new coffees, teas and breakfast bakery goods.

Originally located at 230 W. Virginia St. in Crystal Lake, the sandwich shop opened in the train station at 70 E. Woodstock Ave. earlier in September.

Owner Chris Plazak and his wife and co-owner Teri said they moved there because they wanted to get more foot traffic and to be involved in community events that happen downtown.

“We’re meeting different people at the train station than we were at our last location,” Plazak said.

Plazak’s biggest challenge, he said, is getting word out that the new location is open and they are actually located inside the train station.

“You’re kind of on an island in the train station because you’re surrounded by parking lots,” he said.

Despite the challenge, Plazak said he is having fun getting to know new customers and creating new breakfast and coffee items like the honey bear latte and the lavender latte.

The honey bear latte comes in a bear-shaped cup topped with whipped cream and a teddy bear graham cracker, making it an instant customer favorite, Plazak said.

“We’ve got the background to make them really good,” Chris Plazak said. “They’re not going to miss out on anything.”

Chris and Teri Plazak once owned a coffee shop in Cary called the Coffee Station about 30 years ago. They said they are excited to bring back their old roots.

“We’re actually making the mocha that we used to make at the Coffee Station,” Plazak said.

The new location also offers online ordering on the Breaking Bread website. Online ordering also is available at their location in Cary.

“People will be able to go online and order, pay for it online and just pick it up and walk out, hop on a train or get in their car and take off for the day,” Plazak said.

The shop is open from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. every day and is closed on Sundays. They serve lunch right when the shop opens at 7 a.m., which makes them an option for late-shift workers getting off work in the morning.

“That’s their dinner time,” Chris Plazak said.

A grand opening celebration is expected to happen sometime in late fall, once the team is settled into the location, Chris Plazak said.

Breaking Bread will be hosting a raffle for a free sandwich for 10 weeks during the Johnny Appleseed festival Saturday. They are also sponsors for the great ball race happening at the festival.