Bio
Chef/owner Mitchell Jamra is a first-generation Lebanese-American who grew up immersed in three food cultures that serve as his foundation: Lebanese, Mexican, and Midwestern. He was raised in Flint, MI, centered around his family’s table celebrating the foods of their homeland, their grocery store and butcher shop, and their farm. When his parents split and his father moved to Tucson, AZ, he experienced Mexican food during his formative years. AbouJamra (who also goes by Jamra professionally) attended culinary school at the Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago and went on to work under the late Chef Dominique Tougne at Bistro 110. Expanding his knowledge of the hospitality industry, Jamra then worked varying positions from brand-managing alcohol companies with his business Great Lakes Beverage Collective, to lead chef-instructor for Sur La Table, opening new schools at locations across the country.
In 2020, Jamra opened Evette's, a restaurant that melds the Mediterranean flavors of Lebanon with Mexico’s rich culinary traditions while staying true to his Midwestern roots. Jamra has since expanded bringing Evette's to TimeOut Market in the West Loop in 2022 and Lakeview in 2023 in the midst of earning a spot on The New York Time’s “The Restaurant List—50 Places in America we’re most excited about right now”. In 2022, Jamra open sister restaurant All Too Well in Lincoln Park, a nod to growing up in a family of butchers.