Despite a job at a “great” digital media agency in Chicago, alumna Alicia Bird missed the rush and chaos of the restaurant industry. On a cross country road trip with her boyfriend Scott Golas, Bird decided to quit her job and buy a space in the east of Chicago. She was going to start a restaurant.
Almost two years after she made her decision, Bird and Golas have opened Spoke & Bird, a bistro within Chicago’s Women’s Park and Garden Fieldhouse.
When Bird began thinking about starting a restaurant, Golas and Bird were discussing past jobs and what made them happy. Golas mentioned her work at the Locker Room, Texas Roadhouse and other restaurants.
“[I] always enjoyed the work, the customers and the restaurant atmosphere,” said Bird.
She graduated in Spring 2005 with a Bachelor’s of Science in Family and Consumer Science.
"I always preferred to go to work rather than class and sometimes I skipped class for work, which should have been a sign that my passion was in the food service industry - but it took me 10 years to figure that out," she said.
After Golas and Bird bought the restaurant space, they completely gutted and renovated the area in just four months. Bird designed the bistro herself. Bird made Spoke & Bird part coffeehouse and part beer garden.
The food items at Spoke & Bird are seasonal because Bird purchases fresh ingredients. Bird and Golas source their food locally and work with over 30 farms.
Beside their passion for Spoke & Bird, they love riding bikes – a pastime they’ve integrated into the restaurant. The bistro will include small bike racks and a bike rack that will take up an entire parking spot.
Their restaurant has entered its second week of business and customers have been there almost every day.
“What I like most about [the bistro] is that I get to work with my best friend every day,” said Golas.
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