CHICAGO (WBBM Newsradio) — Vintage arcade games and homemade plant-based food come together in one location in Chicago's West Town neighborhood. Upton's Naturals and Liberation Kitchen is located on West Grand Avenue near North Hoyne Avenue.
Nicole Sopko is Upton's chief operating officer, and she said the company “offers a little bit of something for everyone.”
“We have the number one selling Seitan across all channels in the country,” Sopko told WBBM during a recent visit. “So our seitan is number one, whether you're at a natural food store or a conventional food store.”
Seitan is made from wheat and is used in many vegan dishes. It is sold in the West Town store's kitchen and is also used at the restaurant “Liberation Kitchen.” The restaurant offers sandwiches, soups, mac and cheese, donuts, cookies, and more, all of which are plant-based.
“There are vegan options for any type of eater,” Sopko says. “[There are] People who have lived in this neighborhood all their lives are probably the standard meat-and-potatoes Chicagoans who say, “Hey, I stopped by the sandwich shop, the Italian beef over there is pretty good.'' I guess so. ”
In addition to food, the space also features an arcade with classic games like Space Invaders and Missouri. Pac-Man,” and even a “Hercules” game billed as the world's largest pinball machine and featuring a pinball the size of a baseball.
Photo credit: Terry Keshner
“Logan Arcade contacted us to see if we had additional storage space available for rent, and we said, 'What if it's not storage space?' Like Little Logan What if it was something?'' Sopko said. “So it became Logan Arcade, a pop-up arcade.”
Sopko added, “I love that people want to come and say hi and try our food.”
Upton's Naturals and Liberation Kitchen are both owned by one individual.
Made by Upton's Naturals and Liberation Kitchen, Chicago.
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