Hopleaf

Celebrate the return of Jester King in Chicago with Hopleaf and brewery co-founder Jeffrey Stuffings. Stop by, say hi and enjoy six Jester King drafts.

🇧🇪 Belgian National Day 🇧🇪

Join us ALL DAY July 21 to celebrate!

🍺 $4 OFF all Belgian drafts & bottles

Traditional lambic mussels with dijonnaise

Santé!

It was so wonderful last weekend to have a reunion with our long ago, long time Hopleaf server, Regina Kidder who moved west after her tenure at Hopleaf with her partner Eric. After 34 years, we have employed hundreds of people, many who have gone on to very interesting things all over the world. Regina's post Hopleaf life includes Alpacas, nursing, pottery and other fabulous endeavors. We enjoyed showing her and Eric what we've done with the place since her departure. She approved.

On April 25, the day we held our Zwanze day, Rey who was hosting, was late for their shift. We are all close at the Hopleaf, it is a small community of people that have worked together for years and sometimes decades. We know something is up when people don’t show up.

We learned that day Rey was involved in a car accident, leaving them in the ICU.

Rey’s road to recovery is long but they are a fighter, if you ever got the chance to be seated or had your food run by Rey you could see the sparkle. As a teen Rey was involved in local and national politics, inspired by the thought doing what’s right for all people.

If you have a dollar to spare Rey’s family and friends are running a Go Fund Me to help with Rey’s long term care. We really do appreciate anything you can give. Go Fund Link here:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-ana-reyna-recover-and-rebuild

A week from today June 25 at 5pm we will be celebrating longtime friends and regulars Dovetail Brewery Join us for their 10th anniversary celebration. We will be tapping a gravity keg of 10th anniversary lager to start the party.

Friday Happy Hour 4-6pm with Half Acre and Allagash! Join us as we welcome the Half Acre crew and Rob Tod from Allagash to celebrate their collab beer Daisy Cutter Crown.

Weekend special and it is tasty! Stracciatella w/ fresh strawberries, radishes, strawberry vinaigrette, crispy freekeh, strawberry-balsamic reduction, basil oil, pea tendrils & focaccia. $17 while supplies last and only available after 5pm.

Hopleaf has always attracted an age diverse crowd of regulars and among them, there is always a reigning senior. In 2021, at 98 years old, we lost Turgut Dincer, a vary regular customer, friend and a fascinating man of great intellect and energy who came close to being a centurion. When he passed, the mantle was taken up by this man, Arnold Van Puymbroeck. Born in 1930, in Belgium, he came to America in 1952 and after short stays in New York and Detroit, came to Chicago at a time when Belgians dominated the local Janitors Union. He began his career maintaining apartment buildings in the Edgewater neighborhood and eventually owned rental properties in the neighborhood. He was VERY active in the Belgian immigrant community, working hard to keep alive the language and traditions among them. He was the longtime President of the Belgian-American Club of Chicago.

While being slight in stature, the man was absolutely full of energy well into his 90's. He liked a good Belgian beer and a bucket of mussels, especially on the patio during the warmer months. He was exuberantly happy and his joy was infectious. Like his predecessor, Turgut, Arnold's intellect, memory and sense of humor remained intact all his days.

It was so appropriate for us at Hopleaf to have Arnold as a loyal regular. Arnold even had an early role in bringing Westmalle Trappst Beer to to the Chicago marketplace. He had a surplus of 1970's era Westmalle glassware in his garage that he slowly depleted by bringing us a few boxes every time he came in. His favored Belgian beer was DeKoninck.

All of us at Hopleaf were delighted every time Arnold came in. We will all miss him and we won't forget him. Arnold's 96 years were long, well lived years. He made countless other's lives better just for knowing him.

RIP Arnold. 1930-2026 You were a good man to know.

Photos from Arnold's 95th Birthday party.