For locals who want to enjoy eating out for breakfast while still feeling the comfort of home, Good Morning Family is the place to go. With a variety of menu options and friendly staff, Good Morning Family’s return has been long-awaited.
The breakfast restaurant located in downtown West Chicago announced its return a couple of weeks ago. Now it is officially having a soft opening on April 6.
Good Morning Family is a breakfast and lunch restaurant that originally opened in 2023. It soon grew in popularity with the West Chicago community because of its warm and friendly environment. It is a family-owned business that is run entirely by one family.
“We wanted to do something family-oriented because we were all working in different places. My wife and I worked together, but my daughters had their own separate jobs. So we came up with the idea of starting a business, but one that would be family-run,” restaurant owner Saul Mata said.
Opening a restaurant has its fair share of challenges, from slow days and managing inventory, to name a few, but the biggest challenge for Good Morning Family was recovering after a fire. The family lived in the space above the restaurant, so when a fire broke out, they lost everything.
“We thought only those of us upstairs would be affected, and we said, “Well, at least the restaurant can continue operating.” That was our hope. But when the firefighters told us that the place was uninhabitable, that we couldn’t reopen, it was very hard. Services were cut off: electricity, gas, everything,” restaurant owner Josefina Cetina said.
Dealing with an obstacle like that is hard, and that was no different for Saul and Josefina. Having to rebuild, opening their restaurant again was the least of their worries at the time. The support they received from the community was their biggest motivation to bring back the restaurant.
“As a couple, we wondered, ‘What are we going to do?’ People were writing to us: ‘What’s going to happen to you? Are you going to reopen?’ That really struck us—seeing how a small place had meant something to people,” Cetina said.
As a small business, support from the community can truly make a difference, and for Good Morning Family, that was no different, as the owners were able to win the hearts of the community with their homemade food and family-style service. The attention to detail was there, and people noticed it.
“I really liked that it was family-owned because it was just so nice to go in there. The food was really good, and everybody was so nice. So it was really devastating that they closed down,” West Chicago resident Victoria Hernandez said.
With the restaurant’s return, not much is changing. The same warmth and family-owned atmosphere remain, alongside a menu with a variety of options. The main thing changing is the attempt to strengthen the connection to the community.
“We want to include things that the community, especially young people, will like. Perhaps special days, small details, more advertising on social media. We want the customer to have a special experience,” Cetina said.
Recovering from a fire is not easy, but for Cetina and her family, they battled through the obstacles to get their restaurant back up and running. Working as a family is important to them, as it allows them to stay connected while also moving forward together.
“You realize that in many jobs, as long as you are strong, you are indispensable. But when you no longer have the same agility, the owner doesn’t care. That motivated us to say: ‘We have to put in the effort again. We have to move forward as a family,'” Cetina said.
