There’s a new version of the iconic John Hughes’ movie, “The Breakfast Club,” in town. Instead of being an all-day detention class for high schoolers, it’s a fun way for three Naperville seniors to connect while munching their way through the staggering number of breakfast restaurants in the area.
Appropriately, I met Tim Ory, Joe Straka and Dick Walz at the new Honey Berry Café in Aurora, the 69th restaurant they’ve visited.
Like any club, even one with a membership of only three, there are rules.
They get together for breakfast at 8 a.m. every Wednesday.
Each member takes a turns in choosing a new location, with the person who chooses doing driving.
Breakfast must be served at the table and with bottomless coffee available.
The location must be no more than 30 minutes from their homes in Naperville’s Carillon Club subdivision. However, if it is less than that, minutes can be banked and added on to another trip.
Wives are welcome once a month and they get to choose the location, which does not have to be new.
“We’re finding places we didn’t know existed,” said Straka, an 83-year-old retired psychologist. “I thought we would just be visiting locations in Naperville, but it’s evolved. We’ve talked about us each picking our top 10 and going back if we run out, but at the moment each of us have a handful more on our lists.”
The men used to be part of a group of 12 who would go out for breakfast with other neighbors, typically visiting the same places.
Dick Walz, a 78-year-old retired operations manager for Travelers Insurance, lives three houses down from Ory and Straka.
“We thought wouldn’t it be nice to get a smaller group together to try different restaurants,” he said.
Retired construction electrician Tim Ory, 73, keeps a detailed spreadsheet of every location they’ve visited, organized by town.
“People have asked what our favorite place is, but mostly they’ve all been good,” he said. “Some are good for different reasons. Harner’s Bakery in North Aurora is best for biscuits and gravy. I’m a biscuits-and-gravy snob. Rosie’s is best for apple pancakes. Certain places have better dishes but overall, they’re pretty close.”
The men like to keep each other guessing on the way to the next breakfast stop. This may mean deliberately going off route to throw the others off the scent or texting cryptic clues the day before.
“There is a little bit of a competition. We text hints to each other,” Ory said. “For example, my clue was sacred health food when we went to Wholey Granoly in Bolingbrook.”
More Top Picks Best Vitamins For Energy Boost
The friends tend to order their favorite breakfast foods each time. Straka likes corned beef hash, while Ory likes eggs, bacon and sausage. However, they will try any specialties the restaurant is known for.
“I get same thing usually unless there’s something really unique,” Ory said. “Omelets tend to be different. One place in Plainfield does a five-egg version that looked like a football when it turned up.”
The men have visited a wide range of restaurants, from the popular Buttermilk in Naperville’s Freedom Commons to a bowling alley and even a truck stop.
Ory confused the group when he pulled up outside Lisle Lanes.
“I took them to JRs Place in Lisle Bowl. It’s actually pretty good,” he said.
For Straka it was a trip down memory lane because he and his wife used to be in a bowling league there 50 years ago.
The Americana Diner is a truck stop in Bolingbrook. Walz said although it was a surprising choice, it was worth the drive.
“It turned out to have really good food, with the second-best biscuits and gravy,” he said. “It was certainly different going there.”
Reviews are not taken into consideration as the members like to make up their own minds. The aim isn’t to make recommendations, just to visit every breakfast place within 30 minutes of home.
Walz remembers one in Plano that had bad reviews, but they went anyway.
“It turned out to be the best deal,” he said. “The senior special was $10.01 including tax.”
The men don’t know why breakfast is such a big deal in the Midwest.
Said Straka: “I don’t know if it is just the Midwest or all over the U.S. I spend time in Florida and don’t see the number of breakfast places there like here.”
Something more important than the food is the camaraderie members share. Walz says it’s definitely enhanced their friendship.
“Every Wednesday morning we solve all the world’s problems,” Ory said with a laugh. “It’s been a lot of fun; something we always look forward to. People are amazed by how many different places there are.”
Straka agreed: “We will find ways to create something to get together if we run out of breakfast places,” he said. “We might even graduate to lunch!”
Hilary Decent is a freelance journalist who moved to Naperville from England in 2007.