Bistro on Sterling, a bar and restaurant specializing in American food in downtown Flossmoor, has changed hands. Tracy and Rich Cairo, who owned Bistro on Sterling since 2017, sold it to their executive chef, Yvette Zavala.
is the new owner. (Nick Ulanowski/H-F Chronicle)
Zavala will remain executive chef in her new ownership position. She’ll be adding new items to the menu, she said.
Tracy Cairo, 60, said they sold the Bistro because she wanted to retire soon. Zavala said she was so happy when they gave her the opportunity that she had to pinch herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming.
“We put our blood, sweat and tears into [Bistro on Sterling] for seven years. So, it’s bittersweet,” Tracy said. She worked in catering at Fresh Starts before taking it over and changing the name to Bistro on Sterling.
“We wanted to update it, rejuvenate it, make it more of a Cheers-y place where everyone knows your name,” Tracy said. “[The previous owner] didn’t have TVs in the restaurant. […] We said, ‘we want a TV.’ Maybe we can get some of the sports games on the TV, get people that might’ve not come to our restaurant.”
After her 80-year-old mother died in 2020 of lung complications, Tracy said she thought a lot about how she wanted to spend the rest of her life. She said her mother, who was her best friend, got to have only six years to enjoy her retirement.
“There are things I want to do, and I want to have enough time to do them,” said Tracy, who still works as a billing and account manager at a trucking company. She said that after retirement, she will travel more and possibly move somewhere.
In the summer of 2023, the Cairos talked to Zavala about selling the restaurant, Tracy said. They “started getting the ball rolling in September” so Zavala could take over before the Cairos’ vacation in January 2024, Tracy said.
Zavala said she’s loved cooking since she was 4 years old. She started at Fresh Starts preparing salads, briefly working with Tracy. Zavala was an executive chef at Giovanni’s Restaurant in Munster, Indiana, for two years before returning to Bistro on Sterling.
“Starting from the bottom — it was something,” Zavala said. “[Culinary arts] is still a very male-dominated industry. I had a tough time coming through the boys’ club. But I made it. It made me tougher. It made me a better chef. It made me work harder.”
Under Zavala’s ownership, she said Bistro on Sterling will likely hire Homewood-Flossmoor High School culinary students to work in the kitchen. She said Bistro on Sterling will probably host “family nights” where Homewood-Flossmoor High School Band members can play for their parents.
The longstanding dishes that Bistro on Sterling is most known for, such as the shrimp and grits and the six-ounce fillet, will stay on the menu, but some items will be removed, Zavala said.
“I’ll be adding newer things — some things that show a little more of my personality, my Creole Dominican background,” Zavala said, adding that this includes “some of my more French cuisines” and “Italian cooking.”
“I’m excited and overwhelmed but more so excited,” Zavala said. “I can’t wait to get everything up and running.”