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glencoeanchordaily.com dining out
the glencoe anchor | October 17, 2019 | 27
Northbrook chocolate shop, eatery expands beyond international chain
Erin Yarnall
Contributing Editor
2
Leonidas Kestekides
first made his name known
on an international stage
at the 1910 World’s Fair,
in which the Greek sweetmaker
presented his pastries
to the world and won
a bronze medal.
In the past century, his
name and his food has
spread even further as the
Leonidas chocolate brand
has expanded to more than
30 countries.
The Leonidas chain operates
more than 1,000 locations
— with more than
450 stores in Belgium and
Luxembourg and 290 in
France.
But they have “very
few stores” in the United
States, according to Marie
Douailly, who co-owns
three locations in the Chicago
area, including one
in Northbrook, with her
husband.
Douailly first opened a
Leonidas Chocolate shop
nearly 18 years ago in Wilmette,
which closed eight
years after it opened.
She continued to open
up locations around the
Chicago area, including
one near the Magnificent
Mile, before opening up
the Northbrook shop.
“When you see a Leonidas,
they are owned by
different people, it’s not
too corporate,” Douailly, a
native of northern France,
said.
Douailly said she was
encouraged by her husband
to open up a Leonidas because
she loved purchasing
the shop’s chocolate
when she went to visit her
family in France.
“My husband said ‘Every
time we go to France,
you run to Belgium to buy
Leonidas’ fall-special croissant sandwich ($7.75) is filled with turkey, melted brie and
cranberry sauce. Photos by Jason Addy/22nd Century Media
like 20 pounds of chocolate,’”
Douailly said.
She joked that when
they would return to the
United States, she would
eat all of the chocolate
herself instead of giving it
away as a gift, as the husband
and wife intended.
While the couple opened
up their first shop solely as
a location to sell Leonidas
chocolate, their customers
soon began to request
coffee to go along with
their sweets, and pastries
after that. From then on,
the menu kept growing to
what it is today.
“At that time, we didn’t
even have a pastry chef,”
Douailly said.
Now, they employ pastry
chef Megan McGovern,
who makes all of the
three location’s pastries at
their Evanston location.
“We try to stay very
French and stick to what
we know,” Douailly said
of the cafe’s menu. “The
idea was to make a few little
crepes, no big deal, but
this store in the last three
years exploded in food.”
Last week, a group of
22nd Century Media editors
stopped by Leonidas
Chocolate Cafe to sample
some of the food and talk
to Douailly about her shop.
We were given some of
the shop’s seasonal drinks
to start with. I sampled the
warm apple cider ($4.75),
which is served with a
flavorful cinnamon stick
and an apple ring. Two of
my colleagues went for
the pumpkin spice latte
($3.70 for a small), topped
with a heaping amount of
whipped cream.
Another seasonally inspired
choice was the fall
special croissant sandwich
($7.75). The sandwich is a
croissant, sliced horizontally
in half, filled with turkey,
melted brie and cranberry
sauce.
The restaurant features
several sandwiches on
their menu, including the
croque madame ($9.45),
a traditional French sandwich
with white bread
covered in melted Swiss,
Leonidas Chocolate Cafe
1348 Shermer Road,
Northbrook
(847) 686-0100
8 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-
Sunday
Gruyère and Bechamel
cheeses, filled with ham.
The sandwich is topped
with a fried egg.
We were able to sample
one of the cafe’s crepe options
— pomme ($7.95)
filled with sauteed apples,
caramel and cinnamon,
and topped with ice cream
and whipped cream.
In addition to the sweet
crepes, all of which are
served with whipped
cream, according to
Douailly, the menu also
has a wide selection of savory
options.
It wasn’t possible to
leave Leonidas Chocolate
Cafe without sampling
some of the pastries, including
multi-flavored
macarons ($2.25 each) or
some of the shop’s namesake
chocolate.
The bakery’s macarons ($2.25 each) are made in a
variety of flavors.
The pomme crepe ($7.95) comes with sauteed apples,
caramel and cinnamon topped with ice cream and
whipped cream.
A trio of Leonidas’ drink offerings, including a pumpkin
spice latte and a warm apple cider.