BUCKTOWN — An all-day cafe and wine bar serving breakfast, lunch and shareable dinner plates is coming to the former Izakaya Mita location in Bucktown.
Pompette, 1960 N. Damen Ave., is a joint venture from longtime Chicago chefs Ashlee Aubin, Aaron Patten and Katie Wasielewski. Collectively, the group has worked at some of the city’s most celebrated restaurants, including Alinea, Wood, Salero and Moody Tongue.
The restaurant is taking over the former home of Izakaya Mita, a beloved Japanese restaurant that closed in February at the corner of Damen and Armitage avenues after co-owner Brian Mita died of cancer.
Pompette will feature to-go options and sit-down service for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The restaurant will have 40 seats in the dining room and 10 at the bar, according to a news release.
“There’ll be a takeaway counter with full coffee service and pastries, the whole deal, as well as full restaurant service for sandwiches and salads and general cafe fare,” Aubin said. “And then in the evenings it’s going to be more of a wine bar. [We’re] serving small plates, charcoal grilled food, very seasonal, local.”
Aubin, Patten and Wasielewski are finalizing the menu and other details, but they hope to open in early October.
For dinner service, Pompette will tailor its menu to complement the restaurant’s focus on “Old World” natural wines — specifically from France, Italy, Spain and Germany.
Aubin and Patten live close to the restaurant and said they hope to create a comfortable, casual neighborhood spot where customers can grab a quick coffee to go or hang out to split a bottle of wine and a meal.
“We’re trying to make just easy food, food that people want to eat and come in and have a good time. So many meals, I think the atmosphere and the wine and the company, that contributes to the meal almost more than the food. And that’s kind of the vibe that we’re trying to do here,” Patten said.
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