The North Shore Weekend, September 9th, 2023

Wisconsin

7 leading

way

Freeman is selected as Chair of Writers Theatre's Board of Trustees

Check out Lazy Dog in Oak Brook, a rustic restaurant that elevates comfort food

12 #hashtag

Meet Wilmette resident Laura Lester and learn more about her passions and interests

13 material pursuits

From a new Atari console to sustainable luggage, we've got this weekend's trend report

Highland Parker David Grossman relishes his roles as president and CEO of Epic Burger

BY MITCH HURST THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND

T he 2022 bond market had its worst year in history, and portfolios that had a mix of stocks and bonds meant there were few places for investors to hide.* Steven Esposito, President and Managing Partner of Yellowstone Wealth Management in Lake Forest, says.

“Normally stocks and bonds have an inverse relationship, however at this time, they all went down. It’s a very unique time in history,” Esposito says. “The Ukraine invasion by Russia is something not seen since World War II, historic labor shortages contributing to inflation, and unprecedented volatility in the stock, bond, and commodity markets are all creating havoc for investors.”

Add to that historic losses in 401k plans and the fact the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates at one of the fastest paces in history creating shock waves in the market. Not to mention the U.S. has gone on an unprecedented borrowing spree to keep up with a national debt approaching $32 trillion. There are also the global lockdowns in China affecting supply chains, global demand, and the cost of goods. How do investors process this largely negative environment?

Esposito can help you create a personalized plan and understands the complexities of the current financial landscape. Esposito developed a knack for investing while he was in high school and hasn’t looked back since.

“I had a teacher my sophomore year who got me interested in the financial markets. I asked my father to invest a little bit of money in a new company for me, and that was Wendy’s,” Esposito says. “I quadrupled my money in two years.”

Esposito entered the wealth management industry in 1983 and has both witnessed and lived dramatic changes in the industry, some of which he likes and much of which he doesn’t. “Our industry has become too mechanized, too impersonal; it’s all about scalability.”

Esposito would eventually establish Yellowstone Wealth Management to carry out his vision and values of providing individualized wealth management services for clients. A key aspect of his business model is utilizing the back-office support from Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network while maintaining the independence to serve his clients.

“This is the best of both worlds. Working independently, I can roll up my sleeves and give clients the personal attention they deserve,” Esposito says. “I’m one of those old-fashioned advisors who helps clients manage their portfolio personally. I sit

there’s one thing they all have in common. They don’t want “drive-through wealth management.” They want a “chef.”

When Esposito started his career there were only five mutual funds in existence. Now, there are more than 13,000. Under-

crash again,” he says. “It’s crazy how volatile the markets are. I believe people want to know that the advisor they talk to is actually managing their money.”

Esposito says the solution to the current market volatility is for investors to remain calm and focused and to renew their strategies as the markets play out. Investors have to be positioned based on their comfort and levels of risk.

“Most importantly, a financial advisor needs to think outside the box,” Esposito says.

With Esposito’s more than 40 years of investment experience, Esposito believes he and Yellowstone offer a breadth of expertise rarely found in the investment industry. The overall package is difficult to beat.

“Tell us what you need in order to not worry at night and our goal is to achieve that and more,” he says. “We understand and do not take lightly the incredible trust clients impart to Yellowstone. Many clients have their life savings with us, and that’s a responsibility we take seriously every day.”

Esposito says he thinks of Yellowstone as the equivalent of concierge medicine, like a physician who doesn’t have to answer to hospital administrators.

“They determine what their patients need,” he says. “I do the same with my clients. I listen to what makes them tick.”

Steven Esposito’s minimum account value starts at $1,000,000. Investment products and services are offered through Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network, LLC (WFAFN), Member SIPC. Yellowstone Wealth Management is a separate entity from WFAFN.

Since no one investment program is appropriate for all types of investors, this information is provided for informational purposes only. We need to review your investment objectives, risk tolerance and liquidity needs before we introduce appropriate investment programs to you. Independent money management is not appropriate for all investors. Advisory programs are not designed for excessively traded or inactive accounts and are not appropriate for all investors.

Yellowstone Wealth Management is located at 100 N. Field Drive, Suite 120 in Lake Forest, 224-880-0850, yellowstonewm.com.

down with the client and discuss what they want. For me, wealth management is all about achieving peace of mind and quality of life.”

Esposito’s clients include small business owners, CEOs as well as retirees. He says

standing the volatility in the markets and the long-term implications is firmly in his wheelhouse.

“I’ve had to navigate nine stock market crashes, and in just the past three years we’ve had commodities crash, rise, and

* https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/07/2022was-the-worst-ever-year-for-us-bonds-howto-position-for-2023.html

“I’m one of those old-fashioned advisors who helps clients manage their portfolio personally. I sit down with the client and discuss what they want.”

JOIN THE CLUB

What started as a small group of Kenilworth neighbors sharing food prepared from the same cookbook has turned into a national movement.

BY MITCH HURST THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND

When Allison McEntee moved to the North Shore in 2018, she was looking for a way to make friends and connect with her neighbors. She soon found a small group of women and wanted a way to regularly meet socially to connect and share conversation.

Having worked in food media and marketing her whole career, McEntee is keenly familiar with how food can bring people together. After some brainstorming, the Winnetka resident came up with the idea of the Kenilworth Cookbook Club—a group of women who meet regularly and share dishes made from the same cookbook.

“I don't really have time to read novels so a book club was not something I wanted to do, but a cookbook club where you're cooking dishes from a cookbook and you can enjoy a meal together that seemed very purposeful,” McEntee says. “I wanted to have some sort of purpose.”

After another woman offered to host the club, the group took flight. Hundreds of women now participate in club events and McEntee regularly advises other clubs through the Kenilworth Cookbook Club Ambassadors Program.

Cookbook clubs have suddenly become a popular idea.

“Everyone just started volunteering to host, inviting people into their homes, and it's just gotten to be really huge from the eight people we started with,” says McEntee. “We always get together once a month. I've got someone who's going to be hosting in Glencoe next year so it's really a North Shore thing.”

The club also hosts a big holiday event in December that raises funds for a Kenilworth charity. McEntee says what started as way to connect with others in the community has bloomed into a full-fledged enterprise.

“It's evolved for me over time. In the beginning it was for me to make friendships; that's why I started it. But what has been amazing to watch is the new people that moved to this community, and we've seen a huge boom since COVID,” she says. “People coming here and connecting to their future friends has been really wonderful for me personally. Being that connective tissue has been a really lovely thing for me.”

McEntee also learned something North

Shore home tour organizers have known for decades—everyone is secretly dying to peek inside their neighbor’s beautiful houses.

“A part of it that I did not expect was people really do love seeing inside the homes of others, and that’s beautiful and wonderful to see,” says McEntee. “Someone down on Melrose has a gorgeous home and no one's been able to see it and she's hosting, there will probably be some people that would be interested just stepping in the door.”

Responsibilities of the hosts include selecting the cookbook or culinary theme, opening up their home or preferred venue, and providing tableware, beverages, and music. Guests are asked to bring a prepared dish and to be daring in doing so. The club says, “We’re inclusive of all successes and failures in the kitchen.” And guests don’t need to bring enough to feed the whole crowd; they just need to follow the recipe

for whatever sized dish the recipe calls for.

“Some of the hosts enjoy entertaining and showing off their homes and are very proud of their homes,” McEntee says. “We have events sometimes that are on the low end, like 15 to 20 depending on the time of the year. In summertime people are traveling. Then we've had events that are in the hundreds.”

Guests prepare their culinary offering with care, McEntee says, and take the time to contribute dishes that are unique and creative. An Indian cookbook once presented some challenges, but the event came off well.

“The people that came, they really did an amazing job culinary wise. It was a wonderful thing to see,” she says. “We had a Spanish-themed event this summer and someone brought something that was just so very impressive.”

McEntee says at this point the Kenilworth Cookbook Club is almost too large

and may need to recalibrate into individual clubs on the North Shore. And the idea has become infectious, spreading to other parts of the country.

“We've branched out to other markets. We have Kenilworth Cookbook Club Ambassadors in other areas of the country that have started their own cookbook clubs,” McEntee says. “They apply to be one and we give them kind of the playbook on how to structure it in their own community.”

Through all the growth and success, McEntee says the club hasn’t moved away her original vision for it.

“I just feel like people want to connect and be together and they want to find their people and food does that,” she says. “Food is such a common denominator among all of us no matter where you live.”

For more information visit kenilworthcookbookclub.com.

The Kenilworth Cookbook Club brings together foodies from across the North Shore to share culinary creations and conversation.

AN UNLIKELY DETECTIVE

BY MITCH HURST THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND

What do Don DeLillo, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Joseph Heller, Dorothy Sayers, and Elmore Leonard have in common? They are all novelists who honed their craft in the advertising industry. You can add Riverwoods resident Mike Lubow to that list.

Lubow recently published his first novel, The Idea People, and the plot draws on his considerable experience working in advertising as a copywriter and creative director for firms both in New York and Chicago and also for his own creative agency. While professionally successful—he worked on campaigns for Chrysler and a public service campaign alongside Dick Van Dyke—Lubow couldn’t resist the urge to have his byline on the cover of a book.

“I always was interested in the literary life. I wrote magazine articles and short stories that got published,” he says. “I really wanted to be a novelist. The advertising career was a little more practical for a family man at that time. But I sent short stories, fiction, to magazines and luckily, I got published pretty widely.”

While not fully retired, Lubow says he’s slowed his work down to where he has time on his hands to pursue other projects. He says writing the novel and putting it together was a lot of fun.

“I still have some ad copy writing but the business changed a lot, from writing, words on paper and printed words to tweets and social media and things that a guy like me didn't grow up with,” he says. “I'm very comfortable with a keyboard under my fingers and cranking out the words. That's what I like to do.”

table that's as long as a bowling alley and a lot of big shots and suits. I lived in that world for a bit,” Lubow says. “I was always a little neurotic and nervous about making presentations.”

The primary character, Ben Franklin Green, leaves the big city after a disastrous pitch and winds up going to the natural world of the Wild West, specifically the Rocky Mountains. But things take a turn when his mentor’s daughter disappears and Green finds himself in Laurel Canyon, of all places, self-deputized as a detective and determined to solve the mystery.

“He's an ad guy who drops out of the ad business and he has a friend in L.A. who he goes to visit. The friend has a very outdoorsy, adventuresome young daughter who's 21 years old, and she goes missing in the mountains,” Lubow says. “The friend says, ‘Maybe you could help the detective agency think differently, think outside the box, and come up with some ways to bring my daughter back’.”

In the novel, Lubow teases the creative correlation between ad man and detective.

looking at the hamburger in his hand and he's also looking at a poster on the wall of the hamburger and he thinks, ‘You know, the hamburger on the poster is never the hamburger in your hand’.”

Lubow says he tried to combine elements of suspense and mystery, but also to keep the novel light and humorous. The approach was something straight of his advertising background. He also drew on themes from his childhood.

“I've always liked cowboy stories a lot. I still like cowboy stories. I've also traveled to Colorado, and I've hiked through the Rocky Mountains, and I've been in the areas where the book takes place,” Lubow says. ”The idea if I could say it is an advertising guy goes west and becomes a cowboy. That's kind of a fantasy of a grown man.”

The Idea People is set in the 1980s, a decade that’s getting a lot of attention these days, especially on television (think Stranger Things).

“It starts out in a big city in a high rise building in a fancy conference room with a

“The beauty of the story, the theme of the book, is things are not as they appear. And that's what our hero feels about advertising because advertising always portrays products as more beautiful and glamorous than they really are,” he says. “There is a scene in the beginning of the book where he's been sitting in a McDonald's-type hamburger joint. He's

At one point in the book, Ben Franklin Greene, who's a little bit of a neurotic, finds himself wearing a cowboy hat out of necessity and having a gun belt strapped around his waist with a heavy revolver on it and he's on a galloping horse. Lubow says it all makes sense the way the pieces fit together, even if things really aren’t as they seem.

“I'll tell you a little secret. The bad guys are not necessarily the kidnappers,” he says.

The Idea People is available in paperback and as an e-book on Amazon.com.

LEADING THE WAY

The Writers Theatre Board of Trustees recently elected longtime North Shore resident Jaime Freeman as the Chair of the Writers Theatre Board of Trustees. Freeman is a Managing Director and Market Team Lead at J.P. Morgan Private Bank and has been serving on the Writers Theatre Board since 2020.

“We are filled with new energy and optimism as we the start of 2023-24 season, the first full season with Artistic Director Braden Abraham and with Jaime Freeman as the Chair of the Board. Jaime’s steadfast commitment to the theatre and community, combined with her proven experience as a business leader, is an exciting combination as she begins this new role. As we move the theater forward and address the challenges

of the theater industry in this moment in time, Braden and I are thrilled to have Jaime’s counsel and leadership,” comments Executive Director Kate Lipuma.

“As new Chair of the Board of Trustees, I’m honored to advance Writers Theatre’s mission and help bring groundbreaking productions to America’s finest regional theater company,” says Freeman. “We have strong, creative leadership to guide us through this challenging time for regional theater, and I will add my long-held passion, local roots, and business acumen to help set this gem of Chicago’s North Shore on a path to grow and thrive for years to come.”

A native of the area, Freeman comes from a large family and is the oldest of 27

cousins, many of whom are from the North Shore. She has chosen this community with her husband to raise their two boys who attend school locally.

She believes strongly in supporting the local “jewels” that make the North Shore special.

Freeman holds a B.S. in Finance from Boston College and an M.B.A. in Finance from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Her career spans more than 15 years, with experience that includes commercial middle markets and wealth management.

As Managing Director and Market Team Lead for the North Shore at J.P. Morgan Private Bank, she oversees a group of Bankers and Specialists who advise affluent

clients in the North Shore suburbs, helping them to think through their complex generational legacies and make informed financial decisions for themselves and their families.

Longtime North Shore resident Jaime Freeman is named Chair of the Board of Trustees of Writers Theatre in Glencoe, which kicks off its 32nd season this fall.

Mike Lubow has just published The Idea People, a madcap whodunnit about an ad man turned amateur detective.

BY REX REED ILLUSTRATION BY TOM BACHTELL

RUNNING TIME:

1 HOUR, 40 MINUTES

RATING: 2 stars

Dame Helen Mirren is a distinguished, resplendent, versatile, and deservedly revered British star whose relentless courage and self-assurance have obviously convinced her she can play any role she so desires. True, she can play a lot of them. Aging, dowdy Israeli prime minister Golda Meir is not one of them.

Sure, she goes through the paces, but with her beauty disfigured beyond recognition under a hideous mélange of lines, wrinkles, gray hair, phony prosthetics, and

GOLDA

A film about Golda Meir starring Dame Helen Mirren doesn’t do justice to the legendary Israeli prime minister’s real life triumphs and charisma.

orthopedic shoes, one is constantly reminded we are watching a show-off acting experiment—the kind that should remain in a closed-door acting class.

The film itself is too languidly paced to evoke much tension, even when Dame Helen is negotiating the future of Israel— especially with nothing but the offscreen cries of soldiers in combat to remind us that there’s a war going on.

Without the aid of any actual battle scenes, the action takes place in the war room, which takes advantage of Mirren’s intense, impenetrable stares but robs the film of any badly needed energy. The history that went down on paper is only verbalized on film, not dramatized.

The narrative chronicles the activities of the late (and only female) Israeli prime minister during the tense 19 days of the 1973 Yom Kippur War, so how Golda Meir saved her country from Egypt’s total annihilation is hardly the basis for amuse -

ment, but the humorless script by Nicholas Martin and Guy Nathin’s somber direction are so stripped of any possible lightness of tone that it’s an ordeal to get through it.

You get the impossible odds, the general skepticism of the cabinet ministers, and he hurdles in Golda’s unbalanced relationship with U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger (played with equally grave solemnity by famously dour Liev Schreiber) and you end up desperate for a smile or two. Aside from the factual dynamics, the film offers no pertinent insights into the woman behind the headlines.

She’s sad to learn of the mounting atrocities. She doesn’t suffer fools easily. But who was she outside of the business meetings with top military advisors?

A notorious chain smoker, she fills ashtrays with endless piles of cigarette butts, even in the hospital undergoing treatments for the aggressive lymphoma that

eventually killed her. But the incessant smoking grows irritating and so does the lack of personal character revelation.

I liked the occasional tenderness she extends to her female aides, especially the loyal assistant who washes the prime minister’s hair in the tub and pulls out handfuls of hair by the roots, thanks to her cancer treatments. But such intimacies are rare. Mostly we get maps and technical strategies that are hard to decipher.

The most touching moment in Golda comes in the final shots—black and white images on a television screen depicting the real Golda Meir, warts and all, side by side with her arch adversary, Egypt’s Anwar Sadat.

Here at last is a flash of the grandmotherly charm that hints at a hidden sense of humor. The movie needs more of that charisma and fewer cigarette butts to make Golda a woman as memorable on the screen as she was in real life.

DOG GONE DELICIOUS

BY PETER AND KATE MICHAEL THE NORTH

They say it all began with a pooped pooch. Who’s to say what percentage of the story is fact, fiction, or pure marketing brilliance? All I know is that’s it’s a charming little origin story that involves a dog named Mattie, a roaring fireplace and one of my favorite past times. Once you hear the story, it helps explain why so many people, from San Jose, California, to Fairfax, Virginia, are lining up eat at Lazy Dog restaurants, one of the fastest-growing restaurant empires in the country.

It all happened, years ago, in a cozy living room somewhere in the mountains. What’s undeniable is that Mattie the Dog was cold and wet and tired, chasing the same thing we all want after a long day spent trudging through the snow: a long nap by a warm fire.

Poor dog had no interest in anything but an afternoon snooze. Forget playing catch with a Frisbee. Or gnawing at his favorite bone. Or staring out the window, watching a parade of twinkling snowflakes pirouette down from the clouds. At that moment, all Mattie wanted to do was find the warmest

spot in the den and drift slowly into a doggie dream.

So that’s exactly what ol’ Mattie did, body splayed near the fire, like a shaggy

throw rug. Eyes sealed. Rib cage slowly heaving in and out, no doubt dreaming of strip steaks and hamburger meat. It just so happened that, at that very moment, Mattie’s owner, Chris Simms, sauntered into the room and stopped dead in his tracks. Here—right before his eyes— was an image he wished he could freezeframe for all eternity. He’d been raised in a restaurant family, so he’d devoted more time than most to deciphering what makes people happy. What do they like to eat? Where do they like to eat? How do they like to eat? What makes people feel content?

Here was the answer, laying right there in front of him: his faithful companion looking so untroubled, so completely tranquil, laying there by the fire. What if he developed a restaurant that made people feel just like that. Cozy and warm and satiated. Meals by the fire. Someplace that made people feel like they were vacationing in the Rockies. Or Yellowstone. Now that, he thought to himself, would be a restaurant with universal appeal.

Flash forward to the present, and there are nearly 50 Lazy Dog restaurants scattered across the country, including one of the concept’s newest outposts in Oak Brook, all of which are inspired, by that irresistible image of Simms’ dog Mattie dozing by the fire.

Simms designs all his Lazy Dog restaurants to look exactly the same. Same wilderness lodge motif. Lots of exposed stone. Crackling fireplaces. Wooden trusses. Long, slender columns of tree trunks that act like accent walls. And, of course, dog imagery everywhere you turn. Dog statues guarding the kitchen. Dog portraiture. The outline of cute paw prints embossed onto tables. And in the case of Oak Brook, a dog bone hidden somewhere in the building—I wouldn’t dare divulge its location—that was signed by every member of the restaurant’s opening team.

It’s all very Yosemite. Very Bierstadt. Some restaurants brands are built on the strength of their chefs. Or affordability. Or novelty. This one is built around—and steeped in—a mood and a mountain

The rapidly expanding Lazy Dog restaurant empire comes mushing into Oak Brook with mountain-inspired fare, cozy fireplaces, and an affection for man’s best friend that dog-lovers will find irresistible.

SHORE WEEKEND

ABOVE: Crispy deviled eggs LEFT: Chicken pot pie. Photography by Robin Subar

fantasy, all built around a campfire chic menu, that’s hard to resist.

In essence, Lazy Dog’s menu asks us the following: What would we want to splurge on after a day spent hiking our calves off through the Rocky Mountains? For me that’s good

old-fashioned “skillet” fare, which is what Lazy Dog does best. Oak Brook boasts an impressive assortment of crispy and crunchy appetizers. Try the candied bacon bejeweled with bits of brown sugar and red chili flakes. And fried hushpuppies stuffed with so many fixing (mashed potatoes, bacon, jack cheese, onions) that they’re closer to croquettes than cornmeal fritters.

There’s nothing overtly fancy or avant-garde here. But that’s what makes it appealing. It’s like eating at your local country fair. Consider the kitchen’s fried deviled eggs. Addictive as sin, those things. Deep fried egg whites topped with a conventional sweet-mustard cream. I appreciate the fact that there’s no jiggle, no mushiness, to these little devils. They crunch like chicken skin when you bite into them but remind you of Labor Day

lunches and family picnics spent with the family closer to home.

Truth be told, the menu is so expansive that it encompasses just about every definition of comfort food you can imagine. For better or worse, the offerings are pan-global in nature.

Kung pao bowls. Tex-Mex salads. Spaghetti squash and “beetballs.” Sesamecrusted ahi tuna. And an array of “road trip” bowls that include curry chicken platters and Korean bibimbap.

So it’s best to think of the dining room as one giant multicultural potluck. But the very best dishes tend to be the cowboy offerings. A BBQ ranch burger laced with a spicy smear of chipotle ranch. And the

bison meatloaf, as smoky as it is moist. And of course a flaky pot pie stuffed to its crust with roasted chicken and a gravy so thick it would give a bisque a run for its money.

Your server will likely remind, on multiple occasions, that Lazy Dog runs a scratch kitchen, which means all of its sauces (from BBQ sauces and hot sauces to gravies and marinara) are made in house. That’s impressive, and certainly helps explain why there’s a degree of nuance and subtlety in dishes where other chains would rely on nothing but salt and cream.

But the real allure of the place is derived from its ambiance. It’s warm. It’s simple. It’s rustic. It’s comforting. And for a couple hours, in the middle or at the end of the day, you feel like you’ve escaped way up high to some mountain retreat, where the grub is good, the nights are long and there’s always a cozy spot near the fire waiting for you to claim as your own.

Lazy Dog is located at 1775 22nd St., in Oakbrook Terrace. Call 630.526.4308 or visit lazydogrestaurants.com

Cocktails

Although Lazy Dog offers its own beer club, which gives members dining discounts and ships them craft beers from around the country every quarter, its cocktails are smooth enough to give everyone a mile high.

The sort of drink that’s built for cabin living. Bourbon, lemon juice, agave. A little sweet. A little sour. All topped with a splash of merlot to keep things rich and fruity.

WILD BLUEBERRY AND LEMON:

A dangerous drink. All brambles and blueberries with shot of pineapple juice and a heavy pour of Tito’s vodka. Think mountain sangria in cocktail form.

BELOW: BBQ bison meatloaf RIGHT: Butter cake

NEW YORK SOUR:

EDITED BY DUSTIN O'REGAN ILLUSTRATION BY TOM BACHTELL

LAURA LESTER believes in the power of art to transform the minds, hearts, and homes of collectors. Lester founded her namesake art advisory, Lester Fine Art, in 2021 after 13 years working as a gallery director and auction house specialist in New York City. In these roles, she advised private clients and collections on artwork acquisitions and sales, as well as collection management and appraisals. Lester has cataloged and researched thousands of works of art for auction, including the marquee evening sales at Christie’s. She has organized numerous exhibitions of modern and post-war artists including Lee Krasner, Stuart Davis, and Robert Motherwell. A North Shore native, Laura attended Indiana University in Bloomington after graduating from New Trier High School. She earned a master’s degree in modern art, connoisseurship, and the history of the art market from Christie’s Education—the auction house’s educational arm—in New York. Lester currently serves on the Women’s Board of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago. She lives in Wilmette with her husband, three young children, and Italian Greyhound. Lester Fine Art is committed to helping Chicago collectors navigate the international art world while building world-class collections, as well as supporting established and emerging artists. Here’s how this art world entrepreneur stays in the know:

The Story of Art Without Men by Katy Hessel. I love a fresh take on art history—and Hessel’s book delivers. So many traditional histories are now being rewritten, and I love that both collectors and the market have taken notice of the power of women, BIPOC, and LGBTQIA+ artists.

I follow hundreds of artists and galleries on Instagram—although I get back to New York several times throughout the year, social media helps keep me up on what is happening day to day. Some of my favorite programs are KARMA @karmakarma9, Kasmin Gallery @kasmingallery, GRIMM @grimmgallery, and Chicago’s own Monique Meloche @moniquemeloche. I also am so inspired by the world of design and love seeing images from @archdigest and lots of talented Chicago designers, too!

My favorite industry podcast is ArtTactic which is hosted by a great New York City-based art advisor and old friend, Adam Green. It’s also the year of Taylor Swift—so plenty of Midnights in the rotation!

#ON MY MOBILE

#IN MY EARBUDS

#ON MY NIGHTSTAND

MATERIAL PURSUITS

This weekend’s curated luxury trends

CARTRIDGE COMEBACK

Retro fashion isn’t the only vintage trend that’s seeing a revival. If you’ve got some old Atari cartridges lying around or just want to introduce the next generation to the video gaming of your youth, the new Atari 2600+ is the perfect console for you. Now you can enjoy your favorite Atari 2600 and 7800 games all on one system, which comes with a CX40+ Joystick—lovingly recreated to the same specifications as the original, along with a 10-in-1 game cartridges featuring some of Atari’s most famous game also pulls double cartridge duty and features HDMI and widescreen options, ideal for old-school gamers in the 21st century. Available for $129.99. For more information, visit atari.com.

SUSTAINABLE SUITCASES

TIME TRENDING

Adam Levine has made his mark on music and pop culture. Now he’s capturing time with a bespoke Rolex that lights up in neon green. The “Neon” personalization of Adam Levine’s gold Daytona® 116508 timepiece was produced in collaboration with Artisans de Geneve, an independent watchmaking workshop that offers handcrafted timepiece customization and restoration services. Levine’s adventure began with a drawing and several rounds of discussions with artisans to create something truly one of a kind. “I like classic watches, but I also want mine to be unique: it was very important for me to have something that resembles me, a unique piece that stands out from all the others,” he says. Learn more about this and other creations at artisansdegeneve.com/en/challenges/neon-for-adam-levine/.

If you’ve ever lamented the problem of plastics in the sea, Harper Collective has an offer you may not be able to refuse. As the company launches its line of sustainable suitcases handmade in the UK with recycled sea plastics, it’s extending an exclusive opportunity to become a “founding member.” The first 1,000 of these suitcases will be numbered as limited edition models, representing your contribution to a more sustainable future. The carry-on suitcases are hand-made in England using a Sea Plastic polymer HDPE shell, resulting in a strong, lightweight product tailor-made for the modern traveler. Adding to the luxe presentation is an interior lined with diamond quilt recycled nylon from Barbour. Available for $765. Find out more at harpercollective.co.uk.

SHOWSTOPPER

Epic Burger President and CEO David Grossman of Highland Park knows a restaurant cannot survive and thrive on tasty fare alone. The cast behind the counter must stand out, too.

BY BILL MCLEAN ILLUSTRATION BY BARRY BLITT

After David Grossman took his very first bite of a premium hamburger at Epic Burger in 2008, a math term immediately came to mind.

“It wasn’t just great tasting,” recalls Grossman, who had also ordered fries and a strawberry milkshake for lunch at the eatery’s first Chicago location. “It also had a perfect bun-to-burger ratio.”

Twelve years later, Grossman—a Northbrook native and Highland Park resident since 2021—became Epic Burger’s president and CEO. The 56-year-old has overseen five locations, including spots in Skokie (Old Orchard Mall) and Evanston, since 2020.

Grossman is still very mindful of the crucial role math plays at thriving Epic Burger, home of the halal certified “More Mindful Burger.” But another discipline—theater, no less—also helps brings the house down.

“However, many people are working behind our counter at an Epic Burger, they’re all on stage, putting on a show every day,” Grossman says. “They’re performing genuinely for every customer. If someone enters one of our restaurants looking gloomy, our employees smile or give them a free cookie, hoping to turn that mood around. We surprise and delight.

“I learned a ton from (longtime Subway development agent) Phil Mesi,” Grossman adds. “He taught me that the last three feet of a 1,000-foot pipeline in the restaurant industry are the most important feet. The first 997 feet, you’re focusing on location, finding a good architect, purchasing the equipment, making sure the food is top-notch. But those elements rank behind the friendliness and interactions that take place in the last three feet—the distance between a diner and a cashier.”

Epic Burger’s biggest burger, by the way, stands nearly three feet tall (slight exaggeration) and should come with a Sherpa.

Grossman, a 1985 Glenbrook North High School graduate, chose to major in journalism—not math, not theater—at the University of Kansas. A varsity baseball player and a JV wrestler in high school, he covered the women’s basketball team in college and aimed to become either a sports announcer or a sportswriter.

But the script changed when he decided to cold call Subway one day in the late 1980s. Grossman wound up talking with Mesi.

“I told him I was trying to start a neon sign company,” Grossman says. “Remember when Subway shops had the words ‘We Bake Our Own Bread’ in neon lighting? Above the words was the image of a chef’s hat, but it looked like a mushroom to many. My suggestion to Phil was, ‘Why don’t you replace the chef’s hat with ‘Subway’ to draw even more atten tion to the name of the chain.

“He loved the recommenda tion.”

He also hired Grossman three weeks later to serve as a Subway director of leasing.

Grossman worked at Subway from 1989 to 1996 before taking a position with General Growth Properties, a real estate company and shopping mall operator. His GGP ten ure lasted 13 years.

Grossman’s professional success continued at the Canadian fast casual restaurant franchise Freshii from 2009-2018.

“I’ve loved

every job I’ve ever had,” says Grossman, who was a delivery boy for Mario’s Pizza in Northbrook during his junior and senior years at Glenbrook North. “Phil, at Subway, was an instant mentor, and I met and got to know some amazing entrepreneurs and real

Boston-based Cue Ball Capital invested in Epic Burger several years ago. A founding general partner of Cue Ball, Mats Lederhausen—founder and CEO of the investment platform BE-CAUSE LLC— called Grossman in August 2020 and asked him to visit Epic Burger locations in the Chicago area during a 90-day stretch and then report back to him.

“I was surprised by what I discovered,” Grossman says. “Shortcuts had been taken. It wasn’t like the restaurant I knew when I ate my first Epic Burger. It was

“I fixed it.”

Grossman bought a 51-percent stake in Epic Burger and is in his third year as its president and CEO, with an eye on significantly expanding the enterprise before the end of the month. Don’t be surprised if the

number of locations more than doubles.

“I’m super excited about Epic Burger’s next chapter,” Grossman says.

Grossman, a son of Sybil and the late Jerry Grossman, closed his book on bachelorhood when he married Lauren, a native of Deerfield, in 1994. They raised future Deerfield High School graduates Myles, Hallie, and Drew. Hallie, 25, died after a brief illness in March. She planned on attending medical school.

“Smart, silly, and loving, and she truly loved helping others,” David Grossman says. “Hallie never sought the spotlight, never liked the spotlight.

“I think about her every day.”

Leading a balanced life buoys Mr. Grossman. The family man enjoyed a split doubleheader with Drew on August 30, attending a Chicago Cubs game at Wrigley Field before capping the day at the Train concert at Ravinia Festival. Decades ago, his uncle Ben, an avid skier and world traveler, introduced him to Thai food, and he’s essentially been addicted to the “adventurous” food ever since.

Grossman also plays softball in Wilmette on Sundays and rarely turns down opportunities to ride his mountain bike, play paddle tennis, strike winners in pickleball, or ski.

“I work hard and I try to work smart, every day,” says Grossman, who was a force behind the openings of three Indianapolis businesses—a Freshii, an Elevation Burger, and a Pinkberry—in one day. “And I never wake up and think, ‘Ugh, I have to go to work.’ When I was young, my dad liked to tell me, ‘Be your own boss someday, because you’ll get to do everything your way.’

“But there’s so much more to life than work,” he continues. “Balance is the key. I like spending time with family, friends, and neighbors, hearing the waves crash the shore in Highland Park, playing sports, going to concerts, and teaching. I love to see people develop into better people, whether that’s at work or in another part of my life.”

David Grossman’s bottom line?

“It’s all about people, because you won’t find fulfillment if you go it alone,” he says.

For more information and a look at Epic Burger’s menu and five locations, visit epicburger.com. Epic Burger, which also offers chicken sandwiches and hot dogs and a variety of milkshakes, among other fare, will celebrate its 15th anniversary by offering a “$5 Burger and Fry Combo” on September 15.

If someone enters one of our restaurants looking gloomy, our employees smile or give them a free cookie, hoping to turn that mood around. We surprise and delight.