The smell of flipping flapjacks will soon linger through Union Street as Erika Flanders and Cheryl Hunter prepare to open a family-style breakfast and lunch restaurant where Queso Blanco was formerly located before it was shut down in January.
Flanders and Hunter aren’t new to the restaurant business; this will be their second location for their quaint diner-type atmosphere. They opened their first Erika’s Place in Cicero nine months ago, and Hunter said it was a team effort with fellow employees.
“We have all worked together for years. We were working at a restaurant that was having trouble paying taxes, and we didn’t have job security,” Hunter said. “Erika had been serving tables for 15 years in Cicero, and we just decided to open our own restaurant; all our co-workers came with us.”
Hunter, a Westfield resident, said she saw a need for Erika’s Place in Westfield and thought the location would be ideal for opening a second restaurant.
“We are very family-oriented, and that’s what Westfield is about,” Hunter said. “The location (the corner of Ind. 32 and Union Street) gets a lot of traffic, and it’s a great location for us. When I saw the building was available, we made the decision to add a second restaurant.”
Hunter said she and Flanders intend to hire 12 employees for the Westfield location. They begin accepting applications at the end of this month.
Erika’s Place plans to open June 2. The restaurant will be open Tuesday through Saturday 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Sunday 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.
