Andiamo Brings Coffee, Convenience to East Town

When choosing a name for his cafe, Adam Siegel wanted something that would evoke the electric jolt of a perfect espresso. Andiamo, Italian for “let’s go” seemed like the perfect fit.

The cafe opened just over a month ago next to its sister restaurant, Lupi & Iris. Siegel, a James Beard award-winning chef and Michael DeMichele own and operate both establishments.

The restaurant and cafe opened on the first floor of the 7Seventy7 apartment tower, 777 N. Van Buren St., which formerly housed an upscale grocery store.

Siegel and DeMichele gutted the 10,500 square-foot space in preparation for a kitchen buildout and 290-seat dining room. The building owners, Northwestern Mutual, had just one request: bring back the coffee kiosk from the old grocery store.

“It was something that I was excited to be a part of,” Siegel said, “I’ve never operated a coffee shop before like this, so I took it as a bit of a challenge.”

Andiamo offers a full range of Stone Creek coffee and espresso drinks, Rishi tea, Italian soda, lemonade and a selection of morning pastries from Matilda bakehouse and Cranky Al’s doughnuts.

A leftover cooler from the grocery store is stocked with frozen pizzas, ice cream, milk, orange juice and eggs as a convenience for building residents or passersby needing to pick up some staples. The cafe also holds a retail liquor license.

“It is something that we are very happy to be offering, especially to the building residents who can, on a full day, come down and grab whatever it is that they might need or without having to leave the premises,” Siegel said.

The cafe currently offers a limited selection of grab and go meals and snacks, but Siegel said he has plans to add a wider selection of pre-packaged meals in microwaveable containers from the Lupi & Iris kitchen.

Andiamo is open 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday and 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. The cafe also opens on select Sundays during special events downtown.