Crest Hill’s Jitterhead Brunch & Coffee Co. serves up fresh take on breakfast, lunch

A Crest Hill brunch restaurant that opened in June was inspired by a restaurant in Colorado.

Jitterhead Brunch & Coffee Co. at 20631 W. Renwick Road in Crest Hill is part of Head Honcho Restaurant Group, which is owned by Megan and Jose Diaz of Plainfield and Megan’s sister, Lauren Imbo of Joliet.

Mark and Nancy Kveton of Plainfield, the parents of Megan and Imbo, also are co-owners of Jitterhead, Megan said.

Megan said that when she and her husband Jose traveled to Colorado in 2012, she really loved the venue’s approach to breakfast and wanted to bring that to the Joliet area one day.

“It had really unique dishes and a really cool environment,” Megan said. “It felt really different from most of the breakfast places you see around here. It had more of a modern vibe, and the dishes were not just classic omelets and other items. It had some more unique variations of those options that we really liked.”

What’s on the menu?

Megan said Jitterhead offers in-person dining, carryout and delivery. And Jitterhead’s most popular dish so far is its Build-Your-Own Potato Bowl: breakfast potatoes topped with two eggs cooked to the customer’s preference and their choice of topping.

“They’re very similar to a skillet but just not served in a skillet,” Megan said. “Out of all of them, our chorizo bowl is our best-seller.”

However, Megan’s favorite Jitterhead menu item is the carnitas benedict due to its unique meat and toppings: an English muffin topped with carnitas, two eggs your way, hollandaise sauce, pickled radish, fresh jalapeño, cilantro and diced white onion.

“I’ve never seen it anywhere else,” Megan said.

Megan also encourages patrons to check out the restaurant’s lunch menu.

“We have a really good Philly cheesesteak sandwich,” she said.

Jitterhead also has a full-service bar that’s open at 7 a.m. for breakfast Monday through Saturday and at 10 a.m. Sunday, Megan said.

“We do classic beverages like mimosa and a Bloody Marys,” Megan said. “But we do have a lot of liquors as well, and we have a draft beer system. We definitely want people to know we have those offerings.”

Jitterhead also serves a wide variety of coffees and teas, along with a variety of nonalcoholic beverages.

Jitterhead’s expansion plans

Megan said the Head Honcho Restaurant Group opened its first restaurant in May 2021, when Nancy Kveton couldn’t operate Sanctuary Events due to COVID-19 restrictions and wanted to bring revenue into that space.

So they opened Juicehead and served smoothies, a few coffee selections and bagels, Megan said.

“But when we moved into Yorkville, we expanded the menu, and that became more of a café,” Megan said.

Jitterhead also is going through a small expansion. Megan said weekday hours will run from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at some time in the near future. Jitterhead hours are currently from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Sunday through Saturday.

“You need to be willing to make changes in order to make your clientele happy.”

—  Megan Diaz, co-owner of Jitterhead Brunch & Coffee Co. in Crest Hill

“It would still be the same menu,” Megan said. “And the weekend hours would stay the same.”

Megan said the restaurant industry has gone through “lot of ups and downs,” especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, and that “takes a lot of adjusting.”

Listening to customer feedback is important, she said.

“You need to be willing to make changes in order to make your clientele happy,” Megan said.

For more information, call Jitterhead at 630-757-9059 or visit headhonchogroup.com/jitterhead.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Jitterhead Brunch & Coffee Co.

WHEN: 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Sunday through Saturday

WHERE: 20631 W. Renwick Road in Crest Hill

INFORMATION: Call Jitterhead at 630-757-9059 or visit headhonchogroup.com/jitterhead.