JEFFERSON PARK — Diners will swap pints for flapjacks once Elly's Pancakes takes over the shuttered Finnegan's Bar and Eatery on Milwaukee Avenue this summer.
Signs went up last week in the windows of the closed restaurant at 5310 N. Milwaukee Ave. announcing the arrival of Elly's Pancakes, which also has locations in Lincoln Park as well as several Chicago suburbs.
"It's a great area that needs a great pancake house," said Penelope Magouliotis, an assistant manager. "We already love Jefferson Park."
Elly's menu features oven-baked pancakes, omelettes, waffles covered with powdered sugar, blintzes and crepes as well as freshly-squeezed juices. For those not enamored with breakfast food, burgers and sandwiches are also available.
Work is already underway on the renovation of the restaurant, Magouliotis said. It is scheduled to open in late July or August, she said.
Owen Brugh, chief of staff to Ald. John Arena (45th), said the alderman was happy to have a restaurant opening back up in Finnegan's place, which closed at the end of January.
"Elly's has a good reputation," Brugh said. "We're glad to have them here."
The restaurant is near Foster Avenue, Northwest Highway and Milwaukee, near the the Kennedy Expressway.
The high amount of traffic in that area makes it perfect for Elly's, Magouliotis said.
The pancake house, which is open 24 hours at some of its other locations, is considering keeping the doors open around the clock at the Jefferson Park location as well, Magouliotis said.
"We're already getting requests," Magouliotis said. "It is going to be great."
