OP_070519

OPPrairie.com dining out
the orland park prairie | July 5, 2019 | 15
The Dish
Gina’s Teardrop Cafe big on serving community
Sean Hastings
Contributing Editor
Veterans eat for free
from 6:30-8 a.m. on the
last Monday of every
month at Gina’s Teardrop
Cafe in New Lenox. It has
been that way for approximately
two years.
“When my father
passed and we were at
the cemetery, everybody
there volunteers, and it
just gave me the inspiration
that we need to do
something,” owner Gina
Buck said. “It’s a big turnout.
And their stories are
unreal. It has turned into
a great event that we do.”
Gina said it is nice to
see new faces show up
for the veterans breakfast
who then continue to
come back and eventually
become regulars.
Polish-American festival coming to Orland Park
Will O’Brien
Freelance Reporter
What do you get when
you cross Polish Highlander
culture, a big summer
festival and the southwest
suburbs of Chicago?
Goralmania.
That is the hope, anyway,
for organizers of a
first-time Polish-American
celebration set for
July 13 and 14 in Orland
Park.
“Goral,” organizer Jola
Guzy explained, is Polish
for “Highlander,” the
name of an ethnographic
group concentrated in
Southern Poland, surrounding
areas and, in
the United States, Chicago.
Highlanders are
found throughout the
city’s South Side and its
southern suburbs, and are
known for their deep-rooted
culture and community
gatherings, she said.
“For us, Orland Park
is the hub of this Polish-
American population,”
she said, adding the village’s
proximity to other
Polish enclaves and multimodal
accessibility made
it the perfect home for the
inaugural bash.
The fest — featuring
numerous musical acts
and entertainers, Polish
food vendors, and childfriendly
activities — will
be hosted by Centennial
Park. General admission
is $20, and children 12
and younger will get in
for free.
Guzy and her four collaborators,
who include
brother-in-law Max Guzy,
are hoping at least 2,000
people show up each day,
though they would be
happy to have more. They
came up with the concept
more than a year ago, and
have been planning in earnest
since January.
The cafe also welcomes
in an art class from Martino
Junior High School
in New Lenox to paint the
front windows three times
a year to coincide with
the different seasons and
holidays. It also does food
drives during Thanksgiving
and toy drives during
the Christmas season.
“Anytime we can chip
in, we donate,” Buck said.
“We really do try to give
back. Whenever we can
help somebody, we definitely
try to.”
Buck admitted that
because of the location
of the cafe — on the far
west side of town — some
people may not know it
is there, because they do
not have to drive that way.
But she loves where it is
located
And the cafe will celebrate
six years in November.
When it first opened,
only the main dining area
existed, but a year-and-ahalf
into things, it outgrew
that space.
Luckily, the space next
door was occupied by
Kevin Molloy Insurance,
which moved to the other
end of the mall to help with
Teardrop’s expansion.
Gina’s Teardrop Cafe
serves both breakfast and
lunch. It also caters food
for different events, a
service that has become
more popular as of late.
Teardrop may even host a
wedding later in the summer.
On the regular menu,
the breakfast tacos ($8)
are popular, as are the
biscuits and gravy ($7
full order, $5 half, can be
topped with two eggs any
“Max got the idea from
being on Facebook,” she
said. “He kept seeing ads
for Polish events on the
North Side, and we both
thought, ‘What could we
do to bring something
like this to the South Side
of Chicago?’ It was a nobrainer.”
In a metropolitan area
well-known for its large
Polish population, the
Guzys say there has never
been an event quite like
Goralmania in the region.
“For Polish Highlanders,
everyone knows one
another and loves to get
together when we can,”
Jola said. “We dress up,
dance, have a good time,
and celebrate our heritage
and culture. We are very
happy to be bringing this
on a bigger scale to the
area.”
Entertainment will
range from traditional folk
music and dance groups to
style for $1).
The menu also has some
“hidden gems” in their
specials section. Special
#3 — which is one egg any
style, a cup of fruit, a side
of avocado and a piece of
toast ($8) — has become a
popular item, as well.
“When we did the menu
revision four months ago
to update it, that is one
that gets a lot of orders,”
said Gina’s husband and
co-owner, Ken. “We try to
stay current.”
Gina said if they think
of something good, they
will put it up as a special,
instead of regularly updating
the menu.
“We try to stay with the
trends,” she said. “Everybody’s
eating avocado.”
The Teardop Skillet
($14) has also become
a top-seller for the cafe,
pop music and DJs. Acts
include Izabela Szafranska,
a popular contestant
from the Polish version
of “The Voice;” Sleboda,
a sketch comedy group;
Juliana Bobak and Chris
Koziel, a cover band playing
songs in English and
Polish; and DJ Luke Pope.
Activities are to include
a pierogi-eating and
kolacky-baking contests,
as well as rides and a petting
zoo for children. Local
establishments Tradycja
Polish Fusion Cuisine,
Nothing Bundt Cakes and
Highlander House Restaurant
& Bar will be among
the food vendors.
A Catholic Mass, featuring
a Highlander band,
will be held at the beginning
of the fest’s second
day.
Max said most of the
food vendors were born in
Poland and have kept their
recipes the same since
Gina’s Teardrop Cafe
826 W. Laraway Road
in New Lenox
Hours
• 6 a.m.-3 p.m. daily
For more information
Phone: (815) 717-
8111
Web:
ginasteardropcafe.com
which is the Meat Lover
Skillet (sausage, bacon,
ham, onions, green peppers,
cheddar and mozzarella
cheese) topping with
homemade country gravy
and biscuits.
The cafe also sells alcohol
now, with drinks like
Bloody Mary’s and mimosas
on offer.
“It’s something new for
us that has really taken
off,” Gina said. “It’s another
thing that helps keep
us current, because people
are doing that.”
As far as what the future
holds for Gina’s Teardrop
Cafe, Ken wants to focus
on each years as it comes,
while continuing to grow
the veterans breakfast,
community work and the
catering side of the business.
“For the military breakfast,
we’ve had customers
come in and see that and
want to contribute,” Ken
said. “We had [a veteran]
from Pennsylvania as a
traveler come, give us a
card and said he’d like
to help offset the cost we
incur from the breakfast.
We sent him a card back
and a picture of what we
provide here.”
Other customers, especially
around the holidays,
have shown interest
in helping out with the
veteran’s breakfast, too,
Ken said
Goralmania
What: Food and music
festival celebrating
Polish-American
Highlander culture
When: Saturday, July
13, and Sunday, July
14
Where: Centennial
Park, 15600 West Ave.
in Orland Park
Web: www.goralmania.
com
Cost: $20 (children
younger than 12 free)
moving Stateside.
“It’s real, old-world tradition,”
he said.
Goralmania will be the
first event for the Guzys’
Highlander Production
Inc., though Jola noted
the group’s collective experience
— including organizing
large Highlander
picnics in the past — has
made it well-equipped to
pull the effort together.
Max, a sales professional
with strong connections
throughout the region’s
Polish-American community,
has been responsible
for lining up vendors and
sponsors, which include a
pair of Polish-American
radio stations and a host
of local businesses. They
have promoted the event
through old-fashioned
word-of-mouth tactics, as
well as social media.
They have designed the
event to appeal to all ages
and backgrounds. Whether
Polish or not, all are
welcome to “come check
it out and learn about our
culture,” Jola said.
Interviewed roughly
two weeks before the festival
kicks off, the Guzys
said they were excited to
see their idea come to life
and watch the public enjoy
what they put together.
“We wanted to do
something big, and now
we’re doing it,” Jola said.