Donna Adams is possibly one of the friendliest, most honest people one could come acrossbut don't mistake her for a pushover.
Adams, a retired police officer, is the owner of Donna's Cafe (1255 S. State St.; www.donnascafechicago.com ), a jazz-themed eatery in the gentrified South Loop area. She's an unmistakable presence in the cafe; as soon as someone enters, she greets the person with a "Good morning" and a smile. She often recognizes patrons by name, and they catch each other up on the latest.
Talking with Adams, a staunch ally of the LGBT demographic, is an experience in itselfand I mean that in a good way. In a conversation that was about an hour, she talked about everything from Frankie Knuckles to writing police reports to the South Loop area itselfand that was before we talked about the city's leather community.
When asked why she decided to become a cafe owner, Adams deadpanned, "Well, after a year and a half, I've yet to come up with a really good reason. I don't have a story tell people so I can say I was on drugs, obviouslyor I should've been on them so I'd have a good excuse for this foolish move. This is more work than I ever didand there's nothing glamorous about it." (She later stated that her reasons were, like with all business owners, financialbut she also wanted to leave something for her children.)
Talking about a down side of the business, she said, "I came up in an era when owning your own business was something to be proud of; it was an accomplishment. Now, people sometimes come in here and get the attitude of 'Oh, you're just a shop owner.'" With my background, I never kissed assand I'm not about to start now. I'm too old for that. I let them know: 'You don't impress me, either.'"
However, something Adams loves is the chance to showcase her love of jazz (although she's also an admitted "househead," but she acknowledges house music would be too much in the morningeven for her). Adams said that she's always love the music genre, thanks to her grandmother, who she called a "jazzy, jazzy lady." Her grandmother left Adams a huge jazz record collection; she said it would take "at least a year to transfer [all the music] to digital."
Adams said it's "straight-ahead jazz" that she likes. She added that it's "different from easy-listening jazz that will put you to sleep." Adams listed some of her favorites as Charlie Parker, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, Sarah Vaughan and early Miles Davis. She also listed someone who may initially seem like an odd choice to some: Queen Latifah. "I love her singing jazz," Adams said.
When asked what she wants people to come away with, Adams said, "I want them to have a good experience. I want them to have AN EXPERIENCE. I want them to get the vibe that you can come here and be comfortable. You can chat with me about anything."
As for the food itself, it is wonderfully tasty. The sandwich I ordered, the "Cool Bird" (named after Parker), contains turkey, Romaine lettuce, Swiss cheese, apple and cranberry mayo on wheat breadand it was heavenly. There are also items such as a garden panini that vegetarians will love, but there are also selections ranging from the Wynton Marsalad (with spinach, pears, Craisins, walnuts, goat cheese and Paris dressing) to banana pudding. But don't fear if you're on a diet: Just tell Adams and she'll remind you every time you're thereespecially if you reach for the wrong item.
Donna's Cafe: Come for the food, stay for the conversationand the music. (Musicians perform on Fridays.)