Palatine cafe closes following repeated visits by immigration agents

A family-run Palatine cafe is closing because of a drop in customers due to immigration enforcement in the area, the owners said.

Chappie's Cafe, 754 W. Euclid Ave., will serve its last meal Nov. 2.

The business has seen great success despite opening four years ago during COVID, said Judith Martinez, who owns the cafe with her husband, Omar Garcia.

But things began to change about three to four weeks ago, when federal agents arrived and started to approach customers, she said. Two masked agents encountered customers while they were eating breakfast and asked to see their papers but took no one into custody.

Agents visited about a week later. This time, Martinez locked the front door when she saw them driving around the parking lot.

They then confronted her in the back of the store.

“Right away, they told me, ‘Who are you? I need to see your papers. I need to see your passport. I need to see your legal status,’” she said.

There were two cars parked in the back, without license plates, she said.

“I was afraid and I was nervous, but I'm a U.S. citizen,” said Martinez, who was born in Mexico but later came to the United States and was naturalized.

Her husband is also an immigrant but is here legally, she said.

She kept asking the agents why they were there, but they avoided her questions and soon left.

Beside the looming threat of federal agents keeping customers away, food costs have risen sharply, making the decision to close easier.

The intimate 1,200-square-foot cafe named for the couple’s Corgi has developed a loyal following from such loyal customers as Gina Logue and Kim Filian, who were enjoying a meal Tuesday.

“It’s just nice and cozy,” said Logue, a social worker at Fremd High School. “It feels like a family place.”

Filian, a retired Fremd social worker, reacted to the closing with disbelief.

“I’m saddened. I’m angry,” she said.

Many customers have chosen delivery instead, Martinez said.

She said they will look into possibly reopening elsewhere in a year or so.

“We love this community,” she said. “We love the customers.”

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said they are looking into the incidents, emphasizing operations are not only widespread throughout the area, but are also being conducted by U.S. Border Patrol agents independent of ICE operations.