A great all day dining spot is one of my favorite things, but sadly, many of them don’t make it — lots of places start with big all-day service ambitions, only to turn into dinner-only spots within a few months as the reality of staffing sets in. That’s why I was so excited when Expat opened; this all-day spot from Bonhomme Group has been open since April, is still going strong, and is committed to sticking it out.

Bonhomme Group has had a heck of a run lately; while its Michelin-starred Porto is closed (temporarily, I hope), their other concepts like Beatnik, Bambola, Coquette, Bordel, and others are going strong. They’ve even got a hotel in Spain, and founder Daniel Alonso now splits his time between Chicago and Europe. I caught him while he was on the ground in Spain, working on a new restaurant at the Group’s hotel, Casa Beatnik.

Expat is in the same building as Bombola and was originally part of a private dining space. After about a year, Alonso realized that the space had the potential to be something more exciting; with 100 feet of storefront and its own patio, it seemed wasted as a mostly-empty room. The idea behind Expat is, as the name implies, inspired by expatriates around the world. Alonso describes it evocatively. “Think of being a foreign correspondent in Havana or Marrakesh or Karachi right after the war in the 1950s,” he explains. “What do you miss? All of those classics from home.” That ties together the eclectic décor, the menu of American diner classics, and a cocktail menu that is, quite literally, a best of list from around the world.

Beverage director Brian Sturgulewski worked with Alonso to pull favorite signature drinks from famous expat bars from around the world. Think of a Bellini from Harry’s Bar in Venice, or a Papa Doble from the Floridita in Havana. Each of these drinks has a story.

However, the day at Expat doesn’t start at happy hour, it starts around 11 a.m. Alonso observed the patterns of the neighborhood and tailored the start of their breakfast hour to when locals seemed to be stepping out for their second cup of coffee of the day, or when they were heading home from a workout. The breakfast menu is full of classics like housemade pastries, blueberry and banana pancakes, and a mushroom and goat cheese toast with thyme. When dinner comes around, simple, well-executed dishes are the name of the game, like fish tacos, pasta al limone, or a BLT. None of this menu is going to blow your mind, but that’s not the goal of Expat; Alonso would rather have regulars from the neighborhood. “We’ve seen the neighborhood embrace it,” says Alonso. “Some people come through a couple of times a day.”

The location is a little bit off the beaten path — Alonso says they jokingly call it the “West West Loop” and poke fun at people who hang out in the “East West Loop.” “That’s so 2015,” he laughs. But Bonhomme has a fair number of spots in the area, including Bambola in the same building and Kashmir nearby, Alonso is betting hard that the area is going to continue to expand. “I’ve always pushed us into neighborhoods,” explains Alonso. “We own places there, but also Elske and Smyth and the Loyalist are right there. There’s a lot of stuff at the far end of Randolph; hopefully the rest of the city will spend more time there.”