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24 | November 8, 2018 | The New Lenox Patriot DINING OUT
newlenoxpatriot.com
The Dish
Military-inspired pub showcases owner’s past
Jacquelyn Schlabach
Assistant Editor
A wood-crafted American flag
hangs on the military-green painted
wall, and beer tap handles are in
the shape of 20 mm caliber rounds
inside At Ease Craft Beer Pub in
Homer Glen.
The owner, Nick Roppo — who
served for seven years in the Army
— shares throughout his pub a
piece of what makes him who is he
today: a proud military veteran.
Roppo brought At Ease to Homer
Glen because of his love for craft
beer and love for country.
“There’s no places that really are
a craft beer-like pub here in Homer,”
he said. “So, I figured, ‘Hey,
why not try to introduce something
new to this town?’”
He opened At Ease in April of
this year, following the closing of
his parent’s restaurant Steamer’s
Grill n Pub last December in the
same location. It was a dream of
his to have his own business after
serving in the military.
“I got out of the Army being like,
‘Hey, I was in the Army for seven
years, I’ve been deployed, I’ve
worked a bunch, like, slow down a
little,’” Roppo said. “Now, I work
seven days a week. It’s definitely
stressful some days, but that’s what
it takes to get a business up and
running; you’ve got to be here and
watch everything at all times.”
Although Roppo is hands-on
with his business, he wants his customers
who come in to be relaxed
and stress-free.
“[At Ease is] a double meaning,”
he said. “For someone that wasn’t
in the military, at ease means come
in and relax. It has the same meaning
when you would tell a soldier
at ease, to relax. So, I want people
come in here and relax.”
When the pub first opened, there
were 54 craft beers and several ciders
available. On Aug. 11, Roppo
abruptly closed for a month to expand
his food and beverage offerings
before reopening on Sept. 12.
“I had been thinking about [adding
to the menu],” Roppo said. “I
was sitting there like, ‘Should I
add this stuff?’ But if I was going
to add it, I knew I needed to close
down for a little bit to add all these
changes behind the bar. So, one
day I just woke up — I had been
thinking about it — and one day I
was like I’m going to make these
changes starting today. So, that’s
why I ended up closing so suddenly.
It definitely was the right
choice, without a doubt.”
Now, At Ease offers 38 craft
beers, six ciders, six wines, domestic
beers and hard liquor. Roppo
also expanded his food menu by
adding a variety of sandwiches,
salads, appetizers and pizza.
“I got a lot of input from customers
saying it was just burgers before,
and I didn’t want to be known
as a burger place,” Roppo said. “So
,it’s like, I’ll do some changes to
accommodate more people instead
of, ‘Let’s go here for a burger,’
where [now] anyone can come
here and get something other than
a burger.”
Some of the new items on the
menu include the Buffalo chicken
sandwich ($12) which is made with
fresh chicken, Buffalo sauce, provolone
cheese, pickles and lettuce.
Roppo also added a spicy chicken
sandwich ($12), chicken caesar
wrap ($12) and grilled chicken
sandwich ($10). Every sandwich
and burger on the menu comes
with fries.
Also new to the menu are several
appetizers, including onion
rings ($4), fried cauliflower ($5)
and jalapeno poppers ($5). The
cheese curds ($5) have been popular
since Day 1 and remain on the
new menu.
“Now, I do pizza, also, but it’s
from Kenootz Pizza,” Roppo said.
“So, we’re working together to
where if someone comes in here
[and] orders a pizza, I let them
know, and [we] just help each other
out.”
Two menu items that stayed on
the menu and remain popular are
the grilled ch-ease ($10), which
has provolone, muenster, Gouda
and pimento cheeses, with bacon
One of the new items on the At Ease menu is the Buffalo chicken sandwich ($12), which is made with fresh
chicken, Buffalo sauce, provolone cheese, pickles and lettuce. Thomas Czaja/22nd Century Media
“[At Ease is] a double meaning. For
someone that wasn’t in the military, at
ease means come in and relax. It has the
same meaning when you would tell a
soldier at ease, to relax. So, I want people
come in here and relax.”
Nick Roppo — Owner of At Ease Craft Beer Pub
and tomato. The bourbon burger
($12), another hit, has Brie cheese
and pickled onion.
When Roppo introduced the revamped
menu, he added two house
drinks he said he made strong to
represent the names that accompany
them. Army Ranger ($6.95)
has rum, Red Bull and Jägermeister,
while the Bald Eagle Martini
($7.50) has tequila, grapefruit
juice, cranberry juice, lime juice
and lemon juice, with salt on the
glass rim.
“I figured to be stronger is what I
wanted, because they have military
names,” Roppo said.
While the food and beverage
menu were revamped, Roppo also
made some changes inside. He
added three TVs, a dartboard and
TouchTunes, so customers can pick
At Ease Craft Beer Pub
15761 S. Bell Road in Homer
Glen
Hours
• 4-11 p.m. Monday-
Wednesday
• 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Thursday
• 11 a.m.-1 a.m. Friday-
Saturday
• 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday
For more information ...
Phone: (708) 981-3186
Web: www.ateasepub.com
their own music to play in the pub.
As a veteran-owned business in
Homer Glen, Roppo said he has
received a lot of positive feedback
from customers.
“Everyone really likes the
name,” he said. “There’s a lot of
veterans that do come in. They’re
like, ‘Wow, this is awesome.’ They
like what I’ve done with the place.”