The Doorstep brings more than food to the Polish Triangle

Three new entrepreneurs, Marie Cinquino, Aaron Feinhandler and Izaac Moran, are bringing more than food to the Polish Triangle at Milwaukee, Division and Ashland. They are bringing determination to make a difference as stewards of the space. 

The Food
From their winterized food trailer, the three former employees of the Next Restaurant and The Aviary (Alinea Group) in Fulton Market will soon open The Doorstep.

To be open from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m during the week and from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, they will offer interesting breakfast and lunch selections along with an array of Chicago based Bowtruss coffees and Mighty Leaf teas as well as water and sodas. 

Standard breakfast fare of a bacon or sausage and egg sandwich will also include offerings of avocado toast and lox and bagels. Lunch will include Caprese, basic grilled cheese, a Cuban, a Chicken Banh Mi and a mouth watering, intriguing The Meguez, a North African sausage made of lamb. 

This team does not just sell the food, they also prepare it. Using two different shared kitchens, Moran is the sausage maker while Feinhandler's specialties are hash browns and marinating pork in mojo sauce then slow roasting it for the Cuban. 

"We will change that menu as we go so that it is more seasonal and reflective of the ingredients that are fresh," explained Cinquino who is the business person and organizer of the operations. 

Day to day operations will be shared by all in addition to a friend of Moran. Cinquino will be the face at the window while Moran will cook and his friend wraps the orders. Feinhandler takes on the tasks of inventory and ordering. 

With the hope that they will be opening in the next week, they will begin with hours from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. The opening is dependent on getting electricity hooked up. 

The stewardship
The team originally planned to open a brick and mortar space next to Feinhandler's uncle Felipe Caro at 1141 N. Ashland Ave., the former home of Authentaco and soon to be hamburger "joint."  "As we talked about location we said that the best place was this Triangle," said Feinhandler.

His uncle then told him that he had been approached about a year ago about having food on the Triangle. "That seemed like a cool idea. We didn't have a lot of money and this would be our first venture. So starting small seemed to be the coolest and best thing to do." 

Community effort of keeping the Triangle clean is what Moran emphasizes. "A lot of this is about the food but the reason we are called The Doorstep is because of the 2007 story in the Chicago Reader where they called the Triangle the 'Dirty Doorstep of Wicker Park' because of the trash and pigeons. 

"There is no one here to watch it. Something Aaron always says is 'that while being here, we have to be the stewards of the Triangle.' So we have been coming here daily sweeping and picking up trash. But we can only do so much. 

"The goal is that the more you pick up the more people see it clean and the more the community will want to keep it clean." 

Big step forward in place making 
"The PTC (Polish Triangle Coalition) is very excited to finally have a quality full-time concession kiosk at the Polish Triangle," says Mieko Yoshida, Near North Montesorri, who chairs the PTC and is often seen on the Triangle picking up trash. 

"The installation of The Doorstep is a check on the list of the many improvements and enhancements that we have been working towards for the past six years to enliven the gateway to four communities [Wicker Park, Pulaski Park, East Village and Noble Square]. 

"Partnering with Katherine Darnstadt via Activate!Chicago to get this food kiosk is another big step in transforming the Triangle into a welcoming People Plaza." 

"The Doorstep is bringing enhanced activities and great food to the Triangle, which will continue to support the neighborhood goals of transforming the site into a year around public plaza," said Darnstadt, Latent Design, 900 N. Ashland. She is the Manager of Chicago Plazas, a Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) place making project to activate the 50 public plazas across city, including the Triangle and Mautene Court (Metzger Court).