After spending more than a decade working at his uncle’s restaurants in Decatur, Timmy Islami has stepped out on his own at the Golden Yolk Café at the corner of Stevenson and Baker Drive.
The café, which will celebrate its recent opening with an official ribbon cutting on Oct. 29, serves classic American food with a modern twist.
“I worked for 12 years for him in the kitchen, and I decided it was time to go out on my own,” said Islami, who owns Golden Yolk along with business partner Eddie Limani. “I learned the business, and I was ready.”
Golden Yolk serves breakfast and lunch seven days a week. The breakfast menu features classics such as pancakes, French toast, waffles, omelets and skillets. The lunch menu includes burgers, sandwiches, salads, wraps and paninis as well as the Springfield staple — the horseshoe.
Islami said the café’s different takes on eggs Benedict have been particularly popular since its soft opening in August. In addition to the classic eggs Benedict, Golden Yolk offers a Nashville hot version with crispy chicken on a biscuit, a southern style benedict with biscuits and sausage gravy and a smoked salmon benedict.
Islami said Golden Yolk’s menu is similar to his family’s restaurants in Decatur, but he’s made a few tweaks to make it his own.
“I added more modern stuff and changed things up a little bit,” he said.
When Islami decided to open his own restaurant, he wanted to stay in the central Illinois region and thought there was room for a restaurant like Golden Yolk in the Springfield market.
“I thought Springfield was a great town,” he said. “We were looking at some locations, and this one was available. We saw there weren’t many sit-down restaurants on the south side of Springfield.”
The location previously was the longtime home to Sgt. Pepper’s Café. After Sgt. Pepper’s closed, it briefly became A&Q Café, but that restaurant closed last summer after less than a year in business.
Golden Yolk is open daily from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.