BREAKFAST CLUB

IN JUST A YEAR, MORNING JAY’S HAS BECOME ONE OF CHICAGO’S MOST COVETED BRUNCH TICKETS—AND IT ISN’T A RESTAURANT AT ALL.

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Morning Jay's signature cheddarchive waffles come with fried chicken, fresh mango chutney, salty herb butter, and maple syrup.

They wouldn’t say it so boldly, but Justen Lambar and Nate Crawford are redefining brunch—from inside their Chicago apartment. At the couple’s Cozy Cafes, a dozen or so lucky, ticketed guests mix and mingle over joyfully maximalist dishes like peanut butter cinnamon rolls, gochujang-bacon focaccia sandwiches, or leek-and-sausage bao buns. Known as Morning Jay’s, the creative duo is waking up Chicagoland and drawing national attention. Here’s the story behind their homemade success. As told to Jacqueline Kehoe.

LOVE AT FIRST BITE

NC When we were first talking on Tinder, we messaged each other about chicken and waffles. And our first date was actually at a chicken and waffles spot in Milwaukee. It ended up being eight hours long! That was five or six years ago. We make the dish for special occasions now, like our anniversary.

So we always knew we wanted to do something together with food. I bake everything, and Justen’s all savory. We stumbled upon this breakfast idea, which combined our two loves. And I saw folks on TikTok hosting events in their homes, and that seemed like a great way to test our ideas. Honestly, our first Cozy Cafe was supposed to be a one-off. A one-and-done. And that was only about a year ago.

Justen Lambar (left) and Nate Crawford have big dreams for Morning Jay'smore pop-ups, a farmers market stand, or wholesaling treats to cafes.

"I'VE WANTED MORE OUT OF FOOD EVER SINCE I WAS YOUNG. I WOULD EAT SOMETHING AND GO, YOU KNOW? NO. THIS ISN'T ENOUGH FOR ME. SO LEARNING WHAT FOOD CAN BE HAS JUST BEEN SO EYE-OPENING." JUSTEN LAMBAR

FINDING THEIR FORMULA