Thousands of books including antique Polish tomes, gluten-free pierogi, gelato, Belgian drinking chocolate and a wall of tea from around the world are just some of the eclectic offerings at Caesar Pierogi & Cafe in Portage Park.
Owner Caesar Ferrari, who is half-Italian and half-Polish, opened the restaurant at 5749 W. Irving Park Road in spring 2022. He believed there were no good pierogi to be found in Chicago’s restaurants, even though the city has one of the largest Polish communities outside of Poland.
The restaurant features his recipe for the quintessential Polish dumplings, along with gluten-free pierogi made with rice and buckwheat flour. Besides traditional fillings such as potato and onion and meat, there’s also blueberries, chocolate and spinach and feta.
“It’s fun and challenging to make new flavors,” said Cristian Ferrari, 23, who runs the business with his father. “You have to be special in some way or people won’t come back.”
Last year, they opened a yet-to-be-named bookstore in a space connected to the restaurant. Caesar Ferrari’s stepmother previously ran the Globe International Antiquarian Books at the location before she died several years ago.
Most of the books in the reopened space are from Poland, including some that were banned during the country’s communist era. But Caesar Ferrari also has books in Italian, Spanish, French and English — a reflection of the multicultural influences and leanings of the shop, as well as of his family.
About 2,000 books line wooden shelves, and there are about 30,000 books still in storage. The books span genres such as fiction, history, art, religion, history, romance, fantasy and cooking.
Caesar Ferrari’s favorite book in the shop is a Bible from the 16th century, kept in an undisclosed place. There’s also a tapestry dated from the 17th century, he said.
The bookstore has been gaining more traction in the last few months, as restaurant customers notice the adjacent shop.
Cristian Ferrari said the aim is to preserve history and antiques, and for the restaurant to become a local destination.
“We would like this place to be a staple in the community. Not just because of the food but because it makes people happy and they like the space. We’ve done a lot to make it unique and cozy,” Cristian Ferrari said.
There’s a sofa in the bookstore, paintings on the cafe’s brick walls and lots of knick-knacks on display or for sale, such as colorful glassware and tea cups from around the world. A pianist also comes to play the piano in the restaurant.
“As we’ve been growing, people leave gifts like statues and plants. We just keep them here, and they become part of the store. They come back and see they are a part of it,” Cristian Ferrari said.
The restaurant’s menu has also grown to include offerings such as pizza pot pie, empanadas, soup and, in the last few weeks, 200 varieties of tea from around the world like Japan, China, Nigeria, Brazil and South Africa.
“At first, we were only going to have Polish food, but we expanded to more international options and unique flavors,” Cristian Ferrari said.
Caesar Ferrari came to Chicago in 1995 from Krakow, Poland, where he was a doctor. He’s also lived in Milan and was born in Germany. In Chicago, he was an editor for the Polish yellow pages and a host on a Polish radio station.
Cristian Ferrari grew up near North Beach and is a self-described “mutt” whose mother is of Spanish and French descent. “That makes me all of the above,” he said.
Cristian Ferrari learned recipes from his grandmother when he visited her in Poland. Later, he took culinary classes at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Business at Caesar Pierogi & Cafe was initially slow, but now it serves about 500 pierogi every day. It’s especially popular among gluten-free customers, who were previously restricted from savoring traditional flour-based pierogi. The dumplings are handmade by a group of Polish women in an industrial kitchen facility in Bensenville.
“Soon we hope to make thousands of pierogi,” Cristian Ferrari said. “At the rate we’re going, I can only see it increasing.”