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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION CONGRATULATING LULA CAFE FOR RECEIVING THE 2024 JAMES BEARD AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING HOSPITALITY
WHEREAS, Lula Cafe has been a staple in the Logan Square neighborhood since 1999. What started out as a small cafe on Kedzie Boulevard had turned into a full restaurant stretching three store fronts under the leadership of Executive Chef/Owner Jason Hammel and Co-Founder Amalea Tshilds; and
WHEREAS, Lula Cafe is a celebrated “farm to table” restaurant that has received many accolades, including Chef Jason Hammel’s three-time nomination as finalist for the James Beard Best Chef Great Lakes award; and
WHEREAS, Lula Cafe was awarded the James Beard Award for Outstanding Hospitality - the only Beard medal that a City of Chicago and a County of Cook restaurant received in 2024; and
WHEREAS, Chef Jason Hammel attributes this award and the success of the restaurant to their workers. Despite the existing challenges in the restaurant industry, Lula Cafe has retained a wonderful team of creatives that continue to grow in their roles and graduate to lead or start other highly-regarded restaurants in the 8th District; and
WHEREAS, Lula Cafe values equity and inclusion with their staff, customers, and community members. They continue to lead in the world of hospitality because they center the well-being and voices of their team members in their work. Before joining the popular campaigns to pay tipped workers a fair wage, the restaurant had been paying their workers a living wage; and
WHEREAS, Lula Cafe has provided hearty and healthful meal for 150 members of our 8th District community since the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic through partnerships with Raise High Roads Kitchens and Community Dinners Avondale; and
WHEREAS, Chef Jason Hammel is one of the several chefs who started Pilot Light, a non-profit organization that is focused on food education and action in the Chicago school system; and
WHEREAS, Chef Jason Hammel has recently unveiled LOULOU, a new studio in Logan Square for culinary events and programming that further grows the mission of Lula Cafe as a gathering place for chefs and community members; and
WHEREAS, Chef Jason Hammel has released his debut cookbook, THE LULA CAFE COOKBOOK: COLLECTED RECIPES AND STORIES, which showcases the all-day seasonal food and arty vibe of the restaurant; and
WHEREAS, Lula Cafe has been featured on National Public Radio’s (NPR) “This American Life,” in The New York Times, Food and Wine, Bon Appetit, and in Chicago press where the restaurant has been named an LTH Forum Great Neighborhood Restaurant, a Michelin Bib Gourmande, Jean Banchet Best Neighborhood Restaurant, and a proud member of the “Eater Essential 38.”
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that we, the President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners and members of the Board of Commissioners, do hereby congratulate Lula Cafe for their major accomplishment in receiving the 2024 James Beard Award for Outstanding Hospitality; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Chef Jason Hammel and the Lula team.
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