About Us: Mickey Hornick

The Chicago Diner opened April 2, 1983 on the site of of the old Bread Shop Vegetarian Soup Kitchen which began in those wonderful hippie days. Chef Jo & I worked at the Bread Shop way back in the 1970's. Realizing that natural vegetarian meals were the foods of the future I asked Jo to help me open a full service Vegetarian Diner. When the location on Halsted opened up, we teamed together with our new animal rights Apple computer geek & great friend from Germany, Hans Kostka.

In the early years an all veggie restaurant was a little far out for the Midwest & meat-happy Chicagoans. With Jo's (& later Chef Oscar's) tasty talents , hard work, perseverance & involvement in the community, the Diner slowly became a fixture in the neighborhood & Chicagos' dining scene.

An appearance in the Taste of Chicago brought the Diners' culinary talents to a larger audience & sales started booming In the 1990’s. I managed the Northalsted Street Fair for a few years, which has become an exciting event of over 200,000 people every August & has strengthened the popularity of the the Halsted Merchants & the Diner.

The Northalsted area is also know as Wrigleyville & Lakeview with a mix of diverse retailers, bars, restaurants. The Diner is in the heart of Boystown which is the epicenter for the gay universe in Chicago...hosting the Gay Pride weekend & Halloween Parade.

The Diner has built a reputation thruout the country as the place for Vegan desserts. Whole Foods, Wild Oats & numerous coffee shops & school cafeterias offer an array of the Diners cakes, muffins, scones, cookies & bars.

Our catering divison has enjoyed much success with many full service weddings, parties & hot or cold lunches for business offices (recently we served 900 Vegan meals downtown). We are known for our vegetarian food booths for Earthsave, Sierra Club, Green Peace, Earthday & Organic Day. Local media such as The Chicago Tribune & Sun Times, Reader & New City, televison stations Channel 5, 7, 9 & 11 ..… have all showcased the talented cooks at The Chicago Diner. National publications such as Veg News, Vegetarian Times, Restaurant Hospitality & Shape Magazine have honored our Diner with articles, awards & photos featuring our modern healthy creative menu.

Scientific data has increasingly supported the logic of a vegetarian lifestyle & with the constant stressful world affairs it is our pleasure to serve you our violence free cuisine. We look forward to serving you a vegetarian/vegan tasty brunch, lunch or dinner by our friendly, experienced well trained staff.

I have been a vegetarian since the day we opened, April 2, 1983
Please join me!
MEAT FREE SINCE ’83
Proprietor, Mickey Hornick.