Geja’s Cafe Celebrates 57 Delicious Years in Chicago
Sometimes you just need a little love in your life. And sometimes you actually need a LOT of love…like 57 years worth of it! Enter Geja’s Cafe {340 West Armitage Avenue, Chicago; 773.281.9101} and their amazing menu of fondue, hospitality and romance. This Lincoln Park favorite has been hosting first dates, anniversaries, engagements and celebrations of love for more than half a century so they certainly know a thing or two about a good meal and a good time. Whether they’re looking to impress the in-laws or commemorate a big day, Chicagoans turn again and again to Geja’s. And to Geja’s Owner Jeff Lawler, who has overseen the restaurant for seven years and helped plan 600+ engagements. The man knows his stuff! He gave us an update on this iconic spot, picked his favorite memories and menu items, and made us want to book a summer fondue dinner ASAP…
DI4W: Tell us about your history at Geja's…
Lawler: It was 1993 and I was looking for a new restaurant to work at. I was growing frustrated with recent job experiences of employers not caringly developing young managers and staff, so I met with a recruiter. One week later, she put me in touch with John Davis (Geja’s Founder). We talked in late December 1993 and I started early January 1994. They were exactly what I was hoping to find. The rest… is history!
What sets Geja’s Cafe apart from other restaurants in Chicago?
To start, Geja’s Café is a part of a very small group of restaurants that have been around for more than 50 years. The restaurant actually started as Chicago’s first wine bar in 1965 in Old Town. Then, in 1971 when Geja’s Café moved to our present location, John Davis introduced fondue dining, which no other restaurant in Chicago had done up to that point.
We have also had live Classical and Flamenco Guitarist play every night since 1965. Then you add in our dimly lit and warm wine cellar atmosphere. All these characteristics truly set Geja’s Café apart from other restaurants!
The restaurant is often lauded as one of the most romantic in the country! How do you keep that ambiance alive even after all these years?
In my nearly 30 years here, we are continuously striving to improve the atmosphere; painting of the dining room to be lighter and warmer, improving our sound system, even investing over $100K in our air system in 2005. The patio has also gone under a few evolutions of improvements to today’s look of stoned walls with fireplaces covered by pergolas so guests can enjoy fondue year-round. We will never stop elevating the experience for our guests!
I also believe it is our guests who continue to bring romance to Geja’s Café year after year as they date here, get engaged, celebrate anniversaries… Some have been celebrating every year here for more than 40 years. We have guests that got engaged at Geja’s over 50 years ago and they are still coming back. It’s the guests who bring the romance for each other to Geja’s! We just set the stage for a romantic experience 🔥
On that note, you're celebrating a big anniversary of your own this year - What did you do to celebrate?
Well, it’s been 17 years since our 40th Anniversary in 2005, where we did a world’s record 1,100 gallon cheese fondue on our patio and donated over 800 gallons to the Greater Chicago Food Depository. Then for our 45th Anniversary 12 years ago, we hosted an afternoon open house of 200 couples who got engaged here, enjoying fondues and wines. We even had 17 couples renew their wedding vows all at once on our patio!
At our 50th Anniversary, our founder, John Davis, passed the golden fondue fork to me as I had just purchased Geja’s eight days earlier. Our 55th Anniversary was sadly not celebrated due to the Covid so we’re making up for lost time!
This year, we celebrated our 57th Anniversary all June long, with our annual “Cheese Fondue and Dipping Sauce Contest” where the winning cheese fondue was a Swiss Gruyere and White Cheddar fondue, and the winning sauce was Asian BBQ. And that was just the beginning - It’s all about being 57!!!!
What are some of your favorite menu offerings right now?
Our Prince Geja’s Premier Dinner is by far our guest’s most favorite. That’s because it features all of our proteins (beef tenderloin, cold water lobster tail, white shrimp, sea scallops and chicken). Personally, I lean toward the Deluxe Seafood Premier Dinner paired with our Geja’s Chardonnay and followed up with a Frangeliccino coffee drink and our dark Belgian Chocolate Fondue. I am also looking forward to enjoying the winning cheese fondue and dipping sauce combo!
Fondue is such a fun food! How do you put your own personalized touch on this experience?
Fondue dining in many forms has been enjoyed for many centuries all around the world. Here in the USA, there are a handful of different fondue restaurants, some of which are very basic in their fondue offerings, while others have a more diverse fondue menu and more modern ambience. In contrast, Geja’s Café has long been known for our old world European atmosphere - this is where we are very different.
My personal touches for the guest’s dining experience first comes through the staff. We all share a similar sense of caring for the guests and making sure they have an extra special evening. When I am here, at some point in the guests dining with us, they will be sure to see me making sure they’re having a nice evening. I will also speak to as many guests as possible when the opportunity presents itself. I especially take a special interest in creating the perfect engagement moment if a guest chooses to let us host that celebration. Over my 28 years, I have personally participated in the planning of some 600 engagements. And I still have many tricks up my sleeve!
How has the restaurant changed since it's opening and what are some things that will always stay consistent?
Great question! There are many items in the restaurant today that are from the original 1965 location in Old Town. Some of those items are the bar, guitarist chair and hanging rug behind it, along with a picture of a belly dancer in our West Dining Room.
We started as Chicago’s first wine bar, featuring an extensive wine list with wines from around the world (that are still moderately priced) along with our Gourmet Meat and Cheese Boards. This will never change! Nor will our fondue dining. We will always be a restaurant known for excellent fondue dining for romantic and special occasions. It’s who we are!
What have been some of your fondest memories from your time at Geja's?
Being the person who has had a role in creating over 600 engagements here, I must say, my own was the coolest 😉 It was Christmas 2016, and I had arranged for my two brothers and their wives along with (my now wife) Darla and her daughter to have Christmas dinner at Geja’s. Geja’s is closed Christmas Eve and Day, so it was just the eight of us. Now let’s pause for a bit of history… Darla’s father left her his ring when he passed years earlier. He told her if she met the right person, to use his ring. Darla and I had started dating in November of 2013 and in February of 2015 I asked Darla to move from Columbus, Ohio to Chicago and she accepted! In June of 2015 she and her daughters made the move to Lincoln Park. It took Darla and I a while to settle in together, but as we were approaching the family Christmas dinner in 2016, I asked Darla if she wanted to wear her Dad’s ring at the family dinner. She was upset that I had not proposed yet, but she agreed.
So now it’s December 25, 2016 and she is wearing her Dad’s ring. We all enjoy the cheese fondue and entrée fondue as a family, and then my sisters-in-law tell Darla and I to go relax while they set up for chocolate fondue. So, we grab a bottle of champagne head over to table 31 on the opposite side of the restaurant. Darla and I are talking about what we each want for the New Year, and she asked me what I wanted. That is when I got up from my seat, knelt down and proposed, and all the while she is thinking that she’s wearing her Dad’s ring. She was completely shocked and crying - Her first words were “WTF!!” It was then that I told her that the stones in the ring she had on were actually cubic zirconia, and that I had taken the stones from the original ring to make the engagement ring I was now offering her. Only I’d think of something like that! The rest of the night is a blur, but she did say yes! We married in Jackson Hole, Wyoming on June 29, 2018. The body of her dad’s original ring is in her and my wedding bands, and the stones remain in her surprise engagement ring.
But enough about me! The other big event I will never forget is the 1,100 gallon cheese fondue that took 12 hours to blend with 500 gallons of wine, 3000lbs of cheese, 3 cases of kirshwasser and all the appropriate spices to make the Geja’s cheese fondue for our 40th anniversary. That was crazy!
Anything else you want us all to know about Geja's Cafe?
First, that John Davis (Founder) is 85 living in Park City, Utah. We talk on a weekly basis and his health is good; he still travels the world enjoying wines and foods. He’s the man who started it all!
Second is that we have a special Beringer Winemaker Dinner on Wednesday, July 13th, led by the winery’s Chief Winemaker Ryan Rech. They are the first and only winery to have both a red and a white wine named #1 Wine of the Year by Wine Spectator Magazine. It should be a great time and you can still get tickets!
And lastly, I’m looking to the future already! My goal is to care for Geja’s until our 75th Anniversary; 18 more years. June 19th was the anniversary of my purchasing Geja’s Café, so this year was my 7th Anniversary celebration and I dine here every June 19th and will continue to do until our 75th Anniversary. See you there!
Interview by Kaleigh Glaza | Market Editor