Leonidas Cafe Chocolaterie

Those guys have apparently little experience and no taste in retailing and in selling prepared food. As long as you want to buy Leonidas chocolates (imported, they don't make them) which are quite good, then leave, it is alright. I find the rest amateurish and unprofessional and yes they do seem to resuscitate their filled almond croissants which often have lost their freshness. more

I have had the opportunity to become intimately acquainted with Leonidas of Wilmette. Note to all: They clean their machines at most once a week - refuse piles up behind the counter displays beyond what any customer could imagine - and above beyond, their precious chocolate that some seem to love, is stored in a basement room, which is not insulated, and is cooled by the simple means of a window A/C unit, lacking any system of organization. Holiday chocolates from months prior still fill the shelves and when the chocolates are restocked in the store, there is little knowledge of the expiration date of the boxes used to refill - they are consolidated upon each other (mixing new with old)... and a little secret... those older almond, cream filled croissants that everyone loved - Marie and A. would take the plane croissants that have gone stale home, doctor them up, and resell them (split, filled, and covered with powdered sugar). If there's any question to the comments I have made, the next time you are in there - please, ask them to see the chocolate storage room, seriously. more