TASTE OF TRADITION DRM café’s Eastern European fare a welcome addition to St. Charles dining scene By KELSEY O’CONNOR | Photos by NANCY MERKLING DRM European Café and Delicatessen is approaching its first anniversary. The shop has been serving up traditional Eastern European cuisine since late last year, but its official grand opening and ribbon cutting will be this month. Why the delay? “We waited because my husband’s greatgrandmother lives in Poland,” says Joanna Migo, who owns the shop with her husband, Dan. “It’s really important for us – before we did any ribbon cutting – we wanted her in attendance.” The grand opening party will be at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 19. The Downtown St. Charles Partnership, St. Charles Chamber of Commerce and the mayor will all be in attendance to help celebrate. But the true guest of honor, of course, will be Dan Migo’s great-grandmother. Dan Migo moved to the U.S. in 1984 from Poland, where his family also owned restaurants. For years, he couldn’t find authentic Polish ingredients anywhere near St. Charles. If the couple wanted to recreate the dishes from Dan Migo’s home country, the best option was to drive to Chicago. The couple assumed they weren’t the only ones searching for traditional fare. “There’s such a large community of Eastern European people in and around St. Charles,” says Joanna Migo. “You just can’t get these types of items and cuisine anywhere, especially in a nice atmosphere.” Last year, they decided it was time to do something about it. The pair opened DRM Café and Deli near downtown St. Charles. The homey space is a hybrid market and café, touting a variety of hard-to-find Eastern and Central European specialty goods alongside a hot buffet and deli counter. 20 | DECEMBER 2017 | KANE COUNTY MAGAZINE
The team at DRM is currently preparing for the influx of catering orders this holiday season. A traditional Polish Christmas dinner requires a dozen dishes, including three soups, herring, pierogies, sauerkraut, cabbage rolls, dried fruit and much more. The catering menu at DRM will offer all of these dishes and then some. The shop also will be offering gift baskets DINING & ENTERTAINING
featuring Eastern European specialty items and ingredients. Guests can pick up a pre-made basket or create a custom one themselves. Special holiday items include hand-painted Polish ornaments, table linens and oplatek – a traditional Polish Christmas wafer. One of the most popular features of DRM is the hot buffet, which is open from 11 a.m. to 2 www.kcchronicle.com/magazine