The Brunchery· Great since '38!

Hours: 9:00am – 3:00pm Daily

The Brunchery

For the People, By The People

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The Beginning...

The Brunchery has been a landmark in East Lincoln Park for 85 years this year – serving diners breakfast, lunch, and brunch (before it was even a thing)! Our delivery and carry-out game has always been strong too, “We’ve been an institution on the block for quite some time,” starting on the east side of Clark as a legit, old-school deli then, after 50 years, moving across the street and ditching the steam tables for a modern, upscale approach.

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Brunchery

The Brunchery has always been known for its comfort food and generations-old family recipes, and sandwiches that are too big to finish in one sitting. But the story doesn’t end there. Enter Chicago-famous chef and personality, Derek Rylon — with his original team — ready to take over and transform this diner/deli into what he calls a “Brunchery.” Fine dining where you’d least expect it. “Dinner on eggs,” he jokes, while promising an “Upscale Brunch Experience.”

Chef Rylon

Executive Chef Rylon has been perfecting his culinary skills and original recipes for over 50 years, and his iconic following is a testament to his gift for creating unforgettable dishes. His resume is nothing short of spectacular and reads something like this: Shaw’s Crab House, Wildfire, Maggiano’s, Ruth Chris Steak House, Gibsons, Capital Grill, The Wyndham Hotel, The Westin, The Embassy Suites, the Crown Plaza Hotel, Batter & Berries, and most recently: The Brunchery at 2552 N. Clark in Lincoln Park.

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“People eat with their eyes”

“People eat with their eyes,” chef exclaims, as he carefully lines up rainbow peppers on a crawfish omelet, a dish that came from the fathoms of his imagination. In fact, Derek keeps track of when produce is in peak season and he finds some way to incorporate it into his cooking. Whether it be: heirloom tomatoes, swiss chard, purple asparagus, rainbow carrots, watermelon radish, golden beets – the more colorful, the more likely he is to incorporate into a dish (especially if it’s our restaurant’s colors)!

When asked what separates him from the pack, Derek will tell you that he approaches every dish that he creates with love. “Everything I make is to taste, and if you have to season one of my entrees, it’s an insult.” He says with a smile.

The culinary arts is a pursuit of passion, for one of the only African American Executive Chefs in all of Chicago. Let that sink in. Derek grew up in a kitchen, with his uncle being the Executive Chef for NBC, paving the way for him and instilling a passion in him to carry on the family legacy, a torch his son hopes to one day carry. Derek worked his way up from sous chef in his uncle’s kitchen to a truly respected Chef de Cuisine on the Chicago Brunch scene.

“everything happens for a reason”

Derek earned a reputation for his meticulous attention to detail and his avant-garde brunch menu that is constantly revolving and evolving. He lets people fall in love with a dish and then he switches it out for something new, only to receive threatening social media messages to put it back on the menu “or else…”

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“May The Best Food Win”

Derek has several mantras that go a little something like this: “May the Best Food Win.” “All for brunch and brunch for all!” “Put your seatbelt on, cuz you’re in for a wild ride!”

With his arrival on the scene, every brunch spot in the city is on notice, and he’ll tell ya, “If you’re scared, go to church,” Chef says with a smirk. He’s kidding, but he means it.

At the Brunchery, we believe that brunch isn’t just a meal, it’s a culture. From flights of french toast, to flights of mimosas, flights of benedicts, flights of bacon and waffles, we boast the most affordable flights in the world 😉

So put us on your bucket list and come see what all the excitement is about! We’re sure you’ll agree that we are by far, the best Brunchery in the country!

Cheers 🥂