Edgebrook diner near Central & Devon avenues for sale; coffee shop a local favorite for decades, as current owner hopes tradition continues

by BRIAN NADIG

The owner of the Edgebrook Coffee Shop, 6322 N. Central Ave., is looking to sell the longtime diner by September.

“It has been 10 years for me, and it is time to pass on the baton to a talented, hard-working cook. The diner is at its 10-year peak, with business being a solid 30 percent better than pre-pandemic,” owner Chris Burrell posted on Facebook on Jan. 4.

While the ban on dine-in eating at the start of the pandemic was tough on business, sales started to pick up in late 2020 due to a significant uptick in weekday business, Burrell said in an interview.

More people nowadays are working from home, and as a result a lot of residents are coming in to eat or carryout on weekdays, Burrell said. Previously business would be slower on weekdays compared to Saturday and Sunday, he said.

“We have a great, loyal following, (but) I’m tired, ready to retire,” said Burrell, who has lived in Edgebrook for 28 years and has worked as a chef at several restaurants since he graduated high school.

The diner seats 24 people, but on its best day has served about 170 customers, including carryout.

“We turnover (seats) like crazy,” Burrell said of the fast pace of the diner. “Two eggs with bacon is always popular, … and we sell a ton” of corned beef hash.

The diner opened in the 1950s and has had multiple owners. Burrell said that it had been closed for the two years before he reopened it.

Burrell said that he is willing to stay on for a month to help a new owner during the transition but that the diner will close by the end of September if there is no buyer.

He posted this message on Facebook for any potential buyer: “Of course you can take the diner in any direction you want but if you choose to keep our business model I can almost guarantee you will make back what I am asking in under a year.”

Burrell thanked the coffee shop’s manager, Miriam Nunez, for her dedication and service and said of the business, “Let’s keep the ole’ diner tradition going.”

The diner is open 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily, except closed on Tuesdays.

(photo by Rob Mandik)