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lockportlegend.com DINING OUT
the Lockport Legend | March 22, 2018 | 25
The Dish
Gaston’s Bistro implements efforts to expand clientele
Jacquelyn Schlabach
Assistant Editor
If one were to look up
Gaston’s Bistro on Snapchat,
one would find numerous
videos of chef and
owner Yaser Elkayyal sizzling
chicken and adding
ingredients to dishes being
#seasonedtoperfection.
About a year ago, Elkayyal
created a Snapchat and
Instagram account for his
restaurant in Orland Park
to expand his clientele and
reach a younger crowd.
“I have about 2,000 followers
that I want to build
up, but our clientele — I’m
trying to attract a younger
crowd,” he said. “The
younger crowd is used to
these fast food places. Trust
me, once the younger crowd
comes here and tries my
food, they’ll be like, ‘Wow,
this is all fresh.’”
Elkayyal said he thinks a
lot of people have the misconception
that Gaston’s is
just a fancy restaurant. He
wants them to see a different
picture.
“I want them to think
that, you know, it is French-
American-infused restaurant,”
he said. “I don’t want
them to be intimidated by
the French name, you know.
I feel that people are intimidated
by it. But I also want
them to know that everything
is fresh, made by the
order. Everything is. I’ve
got menu items for kids, to
seniors.”
After 17 years of ownership
by Elkayyal and his
brother Nader, one of their
employees finally encouraged
them to broaden their
social media presence to not
only reach new customers
but also show the community
what Gaston’s is all about.
“Everyone’s like, ‘Dude,
you got to make your own
hashtags,’” Yaser Elkayyal
said. “I go. ‘Why?’ because
my main line is ‘seasoned
to perfection’ or ‘finished
product,’ and everyone’s
like, ‘Man, that’s all we keep
hearing in our heads.’”
Since being present on
social media, Elkayyal has
noticed that more younger
couples and individuals are
coming to Gaston’s, which
is starting to expand the
family atmosphere that he
wants customers to experience
when coming to the
restaurant.
Averaging roughly 200
views a day on Snapchat, it
is another step forward in
revamping the restaurant to
not only attract the younger
crowd but also maintain their
loyal customer base, who
has enjoyed their food for
years. Originally, the name
of the restaurant was Cafe
Gaston, but as of last year
Elkayyal dropped the word
cafe because a lot of customers
coming in thought it was
a coffee house.
“I’ve really been pushing
with the social media and
the name branding and the
logo,” he said.
As for the menu, he and
his brother plan to shrink it
a bit within the next couple
of months, while also adding
some trendier food items to
make it different.
But the customer favorites
will remain on the menu,
such as the chicken bow
tie (15.99) that has sautéed
chicken breast, artichoke
hearts, fresh spinach and tomato
in a light cream lemon
sauce.
“The way we make our
pastas is by the order; nothing
is out of a can,” Elkayyal
said. “Our cream sauce is
not out of a can; it’s made as
we’re cooking. Our ingredients,
it’s a fresh tomato that
we chop up, throw it in the
pan; a chicken breast that
Gaston’s Bistro
14438 John Humphrey
Drive in Orland Park
Hours
• 7 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-
Thursday
• 7 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday-
Saturday
• 7:30 a.m.-3 p.m.
Sunday
For more information ...
Web: www.cafegaston.
com
Phone: (708) 403-3663
Social: facebook.
com/gastonsbistro
and gastonsbistro on
Snapchat
we chop up, throw it in the
pan; fresh spinach; fresh artichoke
hearts.”
The pasta dishes at Gaston’s
are made with a southern
French influence, much
like many of the entrées on
the menu. Customers might
not notice right away, as
Elkayyal said Gaston’s does
not list the French name on
every item, because customers
might not know what it is.
Another popular dish according
to Elkayyal is the
beef bourguignon (16.99),
which is beef tenderloin
strips stewed in a Burgundy
wine. The Gaston’s salad
(9.49) has a bed of romaine
lettuce, topped with blue
cheese crumbles, pear, walnuts
and tomato, served
with sesame ginger dressing.
As for appetizers, the
homemade crab cakes (six
for $9.99) come with homemade
Dijonnaise.
“Our crab cakes are very,
very popular,” he said. “We
make them in house.”
Elkayyal said Gaston’s
caters to all of its customers,
no matter their preferences,
including vegans, vegetarians
and those who eat gluten-free.
Chicken bow tie (15.99) is a customer favorite at Gaston’s Bistro in Orland Park. It features
a sautéed chicken breast, artichoke hearts, fresh spinach and tomato in a light cream
lemon sauce. Photos by Thomas Czaja/22nd Century Media
Pictured is the Gaston’s salad (9.49) — a bed of romaine lettuce, topped with blue cheese
crumbles, pear, walnuts and tomato, served with sesame ginger dressing.
“Because everything is
made by the order, it’s easy
for me to modify a customer’s
needs, and that’s what
a lot of our regulars love
about us,” he said. “I have,
literally, customers that eat
here almost every day of the
week, because we’re cooking
in front of them. They
see that nothing is processed
or pre-made.”
The open kitchen at Gaston’s
is something Elkayyal
enjoys because he said it
shows customers that their
food is made fresh, by the
order, and allows him to be
engaged with his customers,
creating that family atmosphere.
A menu revamp and increasing
social media presence
will help Gaston’s to
not only increase its clientele
but continue to share its delicious
food with customers.