Jenny Levi is the brains behind Café Birdie. Originally from Edwardsville, Jenny returned home after spending 20+ years working in kitchens along the West Coast. She brings fresh updates to the heartland cooking she grew up with by focusing on high quality, nourishing ingredients.

Jenny began cooking from a practical sense, to feed her family. Life for the Levi’s often centered around homecooked meals and gathering around the kitchen table.

Once the kids flew the coop Jenny began working in kitchens outside the home. In 2011 she and her husband David moved to Oakland, California where she managed cafés in Berkeley. There she found inspiration in the rich food culture and began experimenting with new flavors. It was during this time that she began dreaming up a café of her own, a space to come together and enjoy good food and one another – capturing the essence of the Levi family’s kitchen table.

Fast forward to 2020, when the world was changed by COVID-19, and suddenly community looked a whole lot different.

With social distancing gatherings focused on small, isolated groups, once again the kitchen table became central to our family. Instead of going to a new restaurant surrounded by strangers, we spent 2 years cooking meals and playing dominos with extended family.

Jenny creates community through food wherever she is, and as the world opens, we want to share that sense of belonging with others…at Café Birdie!