Incoming Pelago Cafe is ‘a true love story of family, food and coming together’

In Italy, cafes are more than a quick stop; they are a daily ritual.

Two Italian cousins hope to bring that spirit to Highwood when they open Pelago Cafe in early May, serving coffee alongside simple, freshly made sandwiches and pastas.

Ruthie Amidei and Mada Ugolini Hitchmough have wanted to bring their love of food, cooking and family from Italy to Highwood for a decade and are now days away from the dream, Pelago Cafe.

“We are just so excited to bring something so authentic and something we love so much into this community,” Hitchmough said. “Especially because we have so many family, friends and neighbors and people we are so excited to welcome in. It’s going to be awesome.”

The cousins are turning what used to be a nail salon at 325 Waukegan Ave. into a “cozy little Italian osteria” or a “little bistro,” they said. They are going to bring a “warm, welcoming and friendly,” vibe to the Highwood community, where they were born and raised.

According to the cousins, the cafe will offer a casual vibe where people can order food at the counter day and night before choosing a table and waiting to have their food brought over. The cousins want clients to feel like they are “walking into their house,” they said.

Pelago will also offer a fancier atmosphere for private dinners and wine pairings.

The name Pelago is a nod to their family’s Italian village. Amidei’s father is from Pieve, Pelago, and Hitchmough’s father is from Sant’anna, Pelago, in Italy. The cafe will represent the Emilia-Romagna region in Italy.

Pieve and Sant’anna are 10 minutes apart. Amidei’s and Hitchmough’s mothers are sisters, and their fathers knew each other in Italy, evidence of the smallness of the towns. Most of their families still live in Italy; though, Amidei’s and Hitchmough’s parents met in Highwood.

Amidei and Hitchmough got inspiration to bring a cafe to Highwood from their regular travels to Italy

“From traveling, we got the idea to create a very organic, Italian, little cafe that you would see in Italy in Highwood,” Hitchmough said.

Highwood, they said, has an active real-estate market, so when the opportunity arose for a commercial space, the cousins seized it.

“We were sitting in a small street in Bologna having a glass of wine at night,” Amidei said. “And two weeks later, this spot became available in Highwood and we jumped on it.”

Amidei added, “We’ve always had a passion for cooking and we’ve always wanted to do this, so once it came to fruition it was just nonstop.”

You could say cooking is in both Amidei’s and Hitchmough’s blood. Hitchmough’s father was a baker in Italy, and she would cook with him growing up.

Since her father passed away a few years ago, the opening of this cafe is like “his love letter,” Hitchmough said.

Amidei grew up in her nona’s kitchen, studied food in Tuscany, and has worked around food since she was 10 years old. Amidei’s father also owns a produce store in downtown Lake Forest called Amidei Mercatino.

“That’s all the inspiration you need,” Hitchmough said. “It’s a true love story of family, food and coming together.”

In addition to coffee, Pelago cafe will feature sandwiches like flatinis and paninos, pizzas, antipasto platters, charcuterie boards, pastas like lasagnas and tortellacci, breads like focaccia and crostinis, cookies like biscotti, “take and bake” pastas, gift baskets, Ravinia baskets, wine and more.

Ravinia baskets include a couple of sandwiches, an antipasto platter, a bottle of wine, and cheese and crackers, along with desserts and biscotti.

The cafe will sell Italian imported pastas and coffee beans, along with Amidei’s biscotti brand, and Hitchmough’s pasta, which she has made for several restaurants in the area.

Pelago is a scratch kitchen, and the cousins will chef the whole operation. They will be providing an “authentic” and “personalized” experience, they said. The cafe will also be open until midnight on community-event days, so that people can have food there in the late nights.

“I think our handmade pasta and later nights fill a huge gap that people don’t have around here in Highwood,” Hitchmough said.

Amidei added, “We are going to be serving panini, and there’s so many people wishing there was a sandwich place in Highwood, so we will be filling a gap there as well.”

Highwood seems like a natural fit for the cousins and their concept.

“We love Highwood, the people, the community and the ethnicity,” Hitchmough said. “There’s no other place we want to do this than here.”

When clients leave the cafe, the cousins want them to remember the food and experience.

“We want our clients to love the food, feel important and welcomed when they come through the door,” she said. “We are going to remember everyone’s names, and want to make people feel good in their belly and heart.”

The cafe will be providing weekend specials like their schiacciata bread, pasta frittata and homemade Italian bread. The cafe also plans to partner with The Publican for pasta and Molino Bakery for bread. Food from Amidei Mercatino will also be offered.

A year after opening, the cousins will welcome their family and friends from Italy to cook in the kitchen.

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