Forgotten Chicago will be having a Far Northwest Side Bike Tour on Sunday, July 27th. The tour will include a stop at Eli’s where participants will get the chance to hear about our history and sample some cheesecake!

From its beginnings as a genteel rural hamlet in Chicago’s orbit, Norwood Park Township has long served as a destination for city dwellers searching for a more sylvan setting for their home. Our first-ever bicycle tour of Norwood Park and Chicago’s Far Northwest Side will give our guests the first-hand opportunity to see the different trends and ideals that have accompanied the longstanding migration out of the city center.

Covering a wide area, including the former County Insane Asylum at Dunning (helpfully noted in the 1889 map above left) we’ll also look at some interesting examples of retail and industrial architecture that followed as these areas developed, as well as intriguing remnants and structures that predate the area’s integration into Chicagoland’s urban fabric. We will also take a close look at the independent villages of Harwood Heights and Norridge, including the highly successful and recently expanded Harlem Irving Plaza, a neighborhood anchor since 1956 that still features a surprising number of original details, including the former Wieboldt’s store, above right.

Additionally, we will examine a wide array of local landmarks including the 1975 St. Joseph the Betrothed Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church seen at right. Also, the tour will include a stop at Eli’s Cheesecake, where we will hear about their history as a Chicago institution and sample some of their famous product!

For more information, or to purchase tickets, click here.

Eli’s Cheesecake was honored to be served at the Gene Siskel Film Center’s Annual Benefit last month. It featured a Candid Conversation with film legend Morgan Freeman (recipient of the Gene Siskel Film Center Renaissance Award) and director John Turteltaub.

Eli’s is proud to be serving a Big Cheesecake at The Second City’s All-Star Comedy Benefit this Thursday night, July 17th. Executive Pastry Chef Laurel Boger from The Eli’s Cheesecake Company will be serving the cheesecake to over 200 guests at the Benefit’s after-show cocktail party. This is a special one night fundraising event at The Second City Mainstage Theater (1616 N. Wells St). Performances will be at 7:00p and 10:00p.

The Second City is the world premier sketch and improv comedy theatre. We have been producing some of your favorite comedians for the last 55 years. The All-Star Comedy Benefit is a fundraising effort to benefit Gilda’s Club Chicago as well as The Second City Alumni Fund. 

In addition to being a Second City alumni, Gilda Radner was an incredible person and her legacy continues through the free programs offered to men, women, children, and their families and friends whose lives have been impacted by cancer at Gilda’s Club Chicago.

The Second City Alumni Fund was established by Eugene Levy, Martin Short, Joe Flaherty, Andrea Martin, Catherine O’Hara and Andrew Alexander to assist and aid current, former or retired performers, technicians, support staff or other members of the creative and productions teams employed by The Second City theatres and in connection with the SCTV television series.

Gilda’s Club Chicago offers FREE programs for men, women, children, and their families and friends whose lives have been impacted by any kind of cancer. Their mission is to ensure that all people impacted by cancer are empowered by knowledge, strengthened by action, and sustained by community. To learn more about Gilda’s Chicago Club, click here.

The Second City All-Star Comedy Benefit line-up includes Scott Adsit, Mike Hagerty, T.J. Jagodowski, David Koechner, Susan Messing, Katie Rich and Allison Tolman. They will be joining Aidy Bryant, Jack McBrayer, Tim Meadows, George Wendt, Fred Willard and Steven Yeun. If you would like to attend The Second City’s All-Star Comedy Benefit, tickets can be purchased here.

One of the best summer events in Chicago, the Green City Market BBQ grand picnic will be held this Thursday, July 17 in picturesque Lincoln Park, with the fabulous Chicago skyline as a backdrop. This beautiful venue is ideal to showcase some of Chicago’s finest chefs, the who’s who of Chicago’s culinary scene. All dishes served at the BBQ feature items offered from the bounty of the market with nearly 100 chefs and restaurants creating culinary magic. In addition to food, locally made beer, wine and hand-crafted cocktails will be available.

Green City Market is a 501 (c) (3) not for profit organization celebrating our 16th anniversary.  The mission of Green City Market is to provide a marketplace for purchasing sustainably grown food and to educate, promote and connect  farmers and local producers directly to chefs, restaurateurs and the greater Chicago community.  Green City Market values education about quality food and its source. We value farmers who take care of the land; the preservation of sustainably farmed land; a vibrant thriving community of local farms; and consumption of locally grown foods

Green City Market showcases sustainable practices.  From that first year in 1998 next to the Chicago Theatre to the present time, Green City Market has morphed into Chicago’s most vital farmer’s market that industry leader Alice Waters calls “the best sustainable market in the country.”

Purchase your tickets here, and visit the Eli’s Cheesecake table for a delectable treat! We will be serving a Goats Milk Cheesecake, topped with farm fresh peaches, baked on an almond crust and finished with a crunchy almond streusel.

Eli’s is proud to be the dessert sponsor for the Lynn Sage Cancer Research Foundation Summer Party on July 10th at Paris Club in Chicago. The Lynn Sage Cancer Research Foundation (LSCRF) is one of the nation’s leading breast cancer research and education charities. It was founded in 1985 in memory of Lynn Sage, a Chicago-area woman who endured a six-year struggle with breast cancer before she died at the age of 39. Their mission is to support the understanding, research and treatment of breast cancer in partnership with Chicago’s Northwestern Memorial Hospital and the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University. To purchase tickets and learn more about the event or LSCRF, click here.

The 5th Annual Pat Tillman Leadership Summit at Roosevelt University will convene Tillman Military Scholars from diverse branches, backgrounds and areas of study to collaborate on continued service. The weekend will feature a special keynote on leadership from Good to Great author Jim Collins, panels and engaging peer workshops, graduate ceremony and a community service project in the heart of Chicago sponsored by the Chicago Bears.

Eli’s will be providing lunch on Sunday, June 29th, for the scholars working on the Gateway Green service project that is being sponsored by the Chicago Bears.  Scholars will team up to transform Dunning Read Conservation, which will be home to a new veterans hospital on Chicago’s northwest side. Friends of the Parks worked with the State of Illinois to establish the Dunning Read Conservation Area in 2005 to protect the woodlands and wetlands habitat and to open use of the 23 acre site to the public. Along with its wooded areas and meadows, the Dunning-Read Conservation area harbors several small remnant wetlands–a rare find within the extensively built-up city environment.

To learn more about the Pat Tillman Leadership Summit, click here.

Last year the Chicago Fringe Festival moved from Pilsen to Jefferson Park bringing a range of performances that are very affordable to the community. Fringe is an international movements started in Scotland in 1947. This past Sunday, June 22, Eli’s hosted a Dessert Reception for the festival under our Big Top with about 100 people in attendance. The Chicago Fringe Festival (CFF) unites daring theatregoers with emerging and boundary-pushing performing artists from around the world at an annual festival in Chicago. CFF also seeks to engage nontraditional audiences through a commitment to low ticket prices and outreach into artistically under-served communities. This year’s Fringe Festival in Chicago runs from August 29 through September 8. To learn more about the Fringe Festival, click here.

This Thursday, June 19th, the third annual Moxie Awards will take place at Park West in Chicago.  Over 800 people will be in attendance as Chicago’s most innovative digital entrepreneurs gather for an evening of celebration. They will be recognizing outstanding individuals and companies, including Headline Awards for Best New Startup, Breakthrough Digital Company of the Year, Best Company Culture and CEO of the Year. Eli’s is proud to be sponsoring and providing cheesecakes and desserts for this outstanding event.

What a great Father’s Day 2014 Family Bike Ride. Our thanks to Sharon Mrowiec, our Event Chair, her family and the many Eli’s Associates who helped with Registration, Breakfast and in the Café, The grounds looked great, the breakfast (with fresh fruit) was well presented and the water stop well staffed. We were delighted with the support of both the Chicago Police Department—the new district commander Roger Bay rode a bike to supervise the event—and the Harwood Heights Police Department which had 4 cars helping us through our neighboring suburb.

Thank you Sharon for your leadership and to Rudy and his Family at Rudy’s Bike Shop who are so supportive.

Remember the 2015 event is on….the Sunday of Father’s Day!!