ANDERSONVILLE — Rapper and coffee shop proprietor Dan Weiss is ready to open the doors on his newest venture.
Dollop Diner, 5060 N. Clark St., will open Sunday, according to Weiss, a North Side native.
"I think this is the kind of place Andersonville is missing. ... I think there's a lot of great bars and restaurants. The first time I met my wife was at Hopleaf down the block," he said. "I think we'll fit right in."
The breakfast-all-day diner, slated to open next door to Jet's Pizza on the ground floor of a new apartment complex along Clark Street, is a new concept for Weiss, who runs 10 coffee shops under the Dollop brand including the flagship location at 4181 N. Clarendon Ave. in Uptown.
The diner won't offer table service, instead, diners will order at the counter and an employee will bring the food to their table. It also has a TV so diners can catch a Cubs game, he said.
He's also enlisted the help of Chef Keith Kreuser, who served as the beverage director at Boltwood in Evanston. He's also a longtime friend and recording engineer for Weiss, who raps under the moniker Verbal Kent.
Diners can expect "a really tight, well-thought out American diner menu, sourced as locally as possible," said Kreuser.
The "super laid back" menu will include pancakes, chicken and waffles, donuts made fresh daily, pork sliders, fried chicken sandwiches, a variety of salads and "the best burger in Andersonville," he said. "I'm willing to enter a contest."
It will also feature a seasonal soup. For the opening, the soup will be a watermelon and tomato gazpacho, he said.
The diner will also feature cocktails, wine, beer and coffee on draft, but the liquor license will not be cleared until next week, he said. Cocktails include a summer Manhattan and Kresuer's spin on a negroni, he said.
Once they get into a rhythm, customers can expect dinner specials such as Taco Tuesday, he said.
"There's an emphasis on quality because we don't have lots of space; everything is tight," said Kreuser.
The diner has seating for about 50 people inside and an exterior patio that can offer seating for another 50, said Weiss.
It will be open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekends.
[DNAinfo/Josh McGhee]