More on Main cafe serves breakfast, lunch with a side of sentiment in Ottawa, Streator

There’s always room for more. More dreaming. More walks. More shenanigans. More memories. More real food.

Those sentiments and more are emblazoned on the walls of More on Main, a cafe and coffee shop inside the Main Street Market building in downtown Streator. The project was birthed out of the COVID-19 pandemic when employees were asked to contribute words to add to the wall.

This year, the cafe expanded with a second location in Ottawa and decided to add the words that emit joy to their packaging as well.

Its first location opened in Streator in 2018 by Jen McMullen, a former speech language pathologist looking for a new opportunity.

“I was thinking, ‘What is it I like to do?’ and what I like to do is host people and cook for people. I got that idea and then I was like, ‘I think I’m going to open a restaurant.‘”

Plans moved quickly after that. She looked at the market in Streator and saw there were limited offerings with fresh food and there also weren’t locally owned coffee shops.

She decided to combine the two and started thinking about the menu. She noticed a gap in the local market – if customers wanted to grab food, it was most likely going to be fast food.

She wanted to be fast, but fresh and from scratch.

“The idea was to have fresh foods, but also traditional things we all really enjoy but maybe don’t make at home all the time,” she said.

Both locations of More serve breakfast and lunch, offering a soup and side salad of the day, paninis, smoothie bowls, sweet potato bowls and fresh baked desserts, among other items.

One of McMullen’s favorites is cashew coffee, which includes fresh brewed coffee, whole cashews, honey and cinnamon blended together.

“That’s my go-to drink,” she said.

The chopped salad – lettuce, spinach, purple cabbage, green onions, ditalini pasta, chicken, bacon and housemade sweet Italian dressing – is a customer favorite. The grilled cheese panini also is a top seller.

“Honestly, the grilled cheese is not your everyday grilled cheese. I think we do it really well. We sell a lot of grilled cheese and tomato bisque. It’s such a traditional food, but I feel like we have such a unique take on both of them.”

Since opening, she has added more items to the menu.

“When I opened, I thought it was going to be me and one other woman and we were going to serve lunch to like 20 people. That is not what happened,” she said with a laugh. “Everybody just really responded well. At the time we served one sandwich a day and salad and soup of the day. Our menu has evolved for sure.”

When she first opened, customers came back for their favorites, but now a few years later her customers are exploring her menu more.

“We keep an eye on the trends. We see what people are wanting to eat right now. We try some recipes and see what people like,” she said.

A few years into her second career, she is happy she chose something that brings people happiness – both to customers and her staff of 30.

“I’m working here with you guys. Let’s make this as positive as possible. We try to pass that on to the customer,” she said.

In her Streator location, she has a wall of gratitude. People can come in and buy a gift card and write it on the wall. Customers will buy for their child’s teacher, a stranger, the next firefighter who comes in – she said people get creative with it.

“I really try to focus on staying positive. Maybe we’re going to be the bright spot in someone’s day, be it with a drink or a smile.”

More On Main: 317 E. Main St., Streator (First floor of Main Street Market building); 815-822-9152;

More – Ottawa: 818 La Salle St., Ottawa; 815-313-5683;

www.moreonmaincafe.com