PEORIA MAGAZINE August 2023

DISH AND DRINK

ROLLING WITH THE LUNCHES

Bob and Amy Eid, owners of One World Cafe

Thirty years in, One World Café is a mainstay at University

coffee and couches to the Bradley University neighborhood in 1993. Speaking with Bob and wife Amy Eid at a table on the restaurant’s second floor recently was a chance to reflect on some history with the present co owners. “This was the theater,” said Eid, pointing to a part of the room that served as the stage for live acts that in cluded improv comedy and music back in the late 1990s. “There was a little ticket booth here,” he said, laughing. “It’s hard to believe the theater only lasted four years.” But change is part of the One World story. Bob Eid defined three eras, the first as a coffeehouse that accommodated late-night studying and smoking. He had always thought of the operation as a gathering place more than anything else, but it wasn’t long before customers wanted more than soup and

bagels, setting up phase two, said Eid. Amy, who joined the family business in 2011, interjected that the one thing One World has always done is listen to its customers. ‘WE HAD GLUTEN-FREE OPTIONS BEFORE IT WAS COOL’ — 0wner, Bob Eid The third act in the One World play came with the arrival of Joel Brooks as executive chef 19 years ago, said Eid. Brooks was soon joined by another chef, Todd Spurgeon. Both had worked previously at Mt. Hawley Country Club. A TRENDSETTER One World is a place that leads rath er than follows. “We had gluten-free options before it was cool,” said Eid, adding that hummus was a One World

and Main, and not just for the college kids next door

BY STEVE TARTER PHOTOS BY RON JOHNSON O ne World Café, 1245 W. Main St., has stayed with a good thing even as changes have been made along the way. The corner of Main and University served as a drugstore and an outlet for comic books before Bob Eid and his brothers George and Sam brought

16 JULY 2023 PEORIA MAGAZINE